Miami Gardens, Fla. - Men's Hockey is set for their first game in program history on Friday, and Women's Volleyball hosts two games this weekend.
Men's Hockey
Teams: College of Charleston (2-0-0) at St. Thomas University (0-0-0)
Dates: Friday, September 18 | 7:45 pm & Saturday, September 19 | 6:45 pm
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | Baptist Health IcePlex
Media Coverage: Live Video
Meet the Bobcats
St. Thomas University will be playing in their first hockey game in school history. They will be in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 2. The Bobcats played three exhibition games over the weekend, as they defeated Lynn University on Friday, before sweeping the University of South Florida on Saturday and Sunday.
The Bobcats will be led by captain Justin Harshaw, who has experience in the ACHA playing for Florida Atlantic University last year. The assistant captains include Tyler Shaver, Luke Allison, and Jarome Myers. Shaver played 22 games last season in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Oakville Blades, and played 42 games with the Auston Bruins in the North American Hockey League before. Allison, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, has played 117 games in the OJHL with Oakville and Burlington. Myers, another Ontario native, had 103 points in three seasons with Anna Maria College.
The Bobcats also look for big impacts from Nikolas Reich and Brayden Macko. Reich, a native of Sunrise, Fla., has experience in the NAHL with New Jersey and Rochester. Macko also played in the NAHL with El Paso, in which he had a .908 save percentage, which was the 11th best in the league. Macko had an 18-4-4 record in net with El Paso last season.
Scouting College of Charleston
The Cougars opened up last week in a two-game series against Georgia Southern University. In the home-and-home, College of Charleston won both games by the scores of 16-2 and 15-2.
Women's Volleyball
Game 1: Florida College (8-4) at #22 St. Thomas University (8-5 overall, 3-0 Sun)
Date: Friday, September 18 | 6:00 pm
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. | Fernandez Family Center
Media Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats
Game 2: New College of Florida (10-2 overall, 2-1 Sun) at #22 St. Thomas University (8-5 overall, 3-0 Sun)
Date: Saturday, September 19 | 4:00 pm
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. | Fernandez Family Center
Media Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats
Recent Strong Defense
St. Thomas returns to the Fernandez Family Center to start a three-game homestand behind some recent strong defensive performances. In their last game, the Bobcats allowed 16 points in each set in their sweep over Warner. In the Bobcats' last game in the FFC, Ana Clara Valentim do Vale broke a St. Thomas record with 15 blocks against Webber International. She was also awarded NAIA Defender of the Week for her performance.
Matchup History
The Bobcats are 13-2 all-time against Florida College, and they are on a 12-game win streak over the Falcons. They faced each other earlier this season, with St. Thomas sweeping Florida College on the road. In that game, Alexandra Bruno led the Bobcats in kills (9) and aces (3), Payton Bertke led the Bobcats in assists (30), and Sofia Sanchez led the Bobcats in digs (14).
St. Thomas is 6-0 all-time against New College of Florida. These two programs played each other in some big matches last season in the Fernandez Family Center. In October, the Bobcats swept the Mighty Banyans in front of 2,307 fans, which set an NAIA Women's Volleyball regular season attendance record. Less than a month later, these two teams went to five sets, in which the Bobcats won The Sun Conference Tournament Championship.
Scouting the Opponents
Florida College will be playing two games on Friday, as they will play at Florida National before heading to Miami Gardens to face the Bobcats. The Falcons are 4-3 against Sun Conference opponents this year. Raquel Teixeira leads the Falcons in kills (170), Taina de Lima Nunes leads the Falcons in assists (315), and Ann Kat Barrett leads the Falcons in digs (168).
New College of Florida has had a strong start to the season. They are 1-1 against ranked teams, as they swept #24 Mobile early in the season, and then lost to #25 Southeastern a week and a half ago. Wiktoria Telecka leads the Mighty Banyans in kills (204), while Addison Phillippe leads the team in assists (485), and Khalia Horta leads the Mighty Banyans in digs (216).
