Santa Fe College Saints Volleyball Prepares For Postseason

Looking Ahead

After a great season the Santa Fe College Saints volleyball team is ready to tackle the postseason.  Going 19-3 in the regular season and being named Panhandle Conference Champions, the Saints have a fair chance entering the state tournament.

After overcoming a rough regular season the worst is yet to come as they head to the State Tournament. Up first for the Saints they will take on the Indian River State College Pioneers. The Saints defeated the Pioneers 3-2 in the regular season. Other teams competing in the tournament are No.1 Miami-Dade College, No.2 Polk State College, and nationally ranked St. Petersburg College.

“Our Offense needs to catch up with our defense,” Saints Head Coach Nick Cheronis said.

“We’re not the most athletic team and we’re an ok attacking team. When our offense is clicking that’s when our defense takes over. That’s when we’re one hardest teams to beat. In order to compete in this tournament just like any other sport, our offense needs to be equal to our defense.”

Saints At the State Tournament

The No. 17 saints will look to earn a spot in the national tournament. To accomplish that, they must finish in the top three in the state tournament. With a team so developed and improved like Santa Fe there is a good chance they will come out of this double elimination tournament in the top three. Even Cheronis was surprised that they finished 19-3 with such a hard schedule but he says his team bought into how they’re supposed to win.

“Our whole team has improved but especially all of our sophomores fall into the category of being the most developed. They bought into the process of willing to improve every day and it is difficult for some players to have the willingness to fail while learning but our sophomores have done a great job of that and that’s what makes us a special team going into the post season. ”

The Santa Fe Saints will start their search for a spot in the National Tournament as they take on Indian River State, Friday at Bradenton Area Civic Center