On October 4, 2024 there was an NJCAA meetup between the Gulf Coast State College Commodores and the Florida State College at Jacksonville Manta Rays volleyball game. Gulf Coast hosted at home in the Wellness Center. The game started at 6 p.m. and the Commodores took an early lead. The Commodores had a lead of between eight to ten points for the whole first set. The first set ended with a score of 25-13. Freshman middle hitter, Kya Colsten, started this set and assisted with some blocks and spikes that set the Commodores up for the win. After the teams switched sides for the second set, it seemed that the Commodores struggled a little bit and gave up a pretty substantial lead early on. Sophomore outside hitter, Cece Worsham, dealt some big points for the Commodores and led her team through the second set. The Manta Rays scored big at the beginning of this set, but the Commodore girls stepped up and closed out the set with a win. The second set finished out with a score of 25-18 for the Commodores. With high spirits, the Commodores opened the third set –which all they needed was to win out this set to finish the game off– and they started scoring early on. Fueled on by the prospect of winning, the Commodores brought big energy to this last set, being loud and aggressive to keep spirits alive! The Commodores won the third set with a score of 25-13 over the Manta Rays. 

The main server for the Commodores was Melany Salazar and she finished the game with 12 aces! Kya Colston had a big game this game with 10 kills and three spikes for a total of 12 points! After the game, most of the girls started cleaning up to leave so unfortunately, none were available for an interview. On a positive note, there was a crowd with various students, one of which was able to stop for an interview about her experience. Freshman student, Gabriela Sosa, said that the game was very exciting and that watching her classmates play at this level makes her proud to attend Gulf Coast. Another student, Felicia Neal, stopped to say that watching volleyball is very fun for her and her friends because they all support the uprise women’s sports. These two students both agreed that they would attend more Gulf Coast volleyball games and other games that Gulf Coast hosts in the Wellness Center or in the fields. Continuing on about the Lady Commodores, the team as a whole was seen communicating very well, such as encouraging teammates after a good serve, uplifting each other after missing a point, and cheering each other on from the benches. This game was one of three for this early October weekend and the girls seemed pumped up for it. After checking on the statistics from the weekend games the Lady Commodores won all three in the same fashion; 3-0. This team looks very promising for the rest of their season and other future seasons.

Amaya Kotarba

Student Writer - Fall 2024

This was written for DIG 2151: Writing for Media.