Leesburg, Fla. – After spending the 2020-21 school year as a spring sport, Lake-Sumter State College volleyball has returned to somewhat normalcy as a fall sport.
The start of the volleyball season is not around the corner, it is here! Head Coach, Amanda Phelps begins her sixth season at the helm of the program. Phelps is the longest tenured coach in the program's history and enters the season with the second most wins all-time with 42. She sits 14 wins behind Steven Bishop at 16 and with 25 matches on the schedule, Phelps could reach the milestone this fall.
"I want to start by saying how thankful we are to be playing in the Fall again," said an excited Coach Phelps. "This team has time and time again shown how they can handle adversity and we are so excited to get the season started!"
Sun-Lakes Conference play begins right out of the gate this year. Lake-Sumter will open on the road against conference foe, Pasco-Hernando State College, in New Port Richey, Fla. PHSC finished last season 12-11 overall and 6-4 in the conference. The Lakehawks are coming off of a year where they went 5-5 during the Sun-Lakes schedule (7-10 overall) and saw their season come to an end during the final four at the Regional Tournament. In the spring of 2021, LSSC took the first match in three straight sets. PHSC were able to grab the second match in five sets.
The roster looks very similar to last spring with Phelps adding just six freshmen to her sophomore core. Cayla Colbert, Sheyenne Kimpel, Katie Patrick, Emma Rome, Andrea Davis and Taylor Lawrence join an already talented squad. If the name Kimpel sounds familiar, Sheyenne's sister was a member of the 2018 team that finished 11th in the nation and is looking to leave her mark and possibly another banner in the gym.
"We have a heavy sophomore class," Phelps added. "We will be looking to their leadership as we navigate through our first season as a 10-team conference."
Faith Horgeshimer, Carolina Marrero Russe, Kayla Chambliss, Erin Wells, Mikayla Simmons, Sarah Michael, Courtney Wagner, Sarah Dressner, Xiomara Williams, Viannie Kazan and Madison Heskett outline the amount of experience returning this season. The Sophomore class is highlighted by Williams and Chambliss who are returning All-Conference selections earning First Team and Second Team honors, respectively.
As Coach Phelps eluded to, the Sun-Lakes Conference will expand to 10 teams this fall. St. Pete College, Pensacola State College, Florida State College – Jacksonville and Palm Beach State College will be playing their first season at the NJCAA DII level. A minor note to mention, there are no teams from Region 8 in the NJCAA Pre-Season National Poll.
Home games this season will be live-streamed on our website, www.lakehawksports.com. You can also find the full schedule and updated stats and other information about the program throughout the season which starts at 5 pm, August 20.