Lady Sharks Aim To Improve On Third Place Finish At Last Year’s National Tournament
The Miami Dade College volleyball team is looking to improve on a 2020-21 season that saw them finish third in the nation, boast a 26-1 overall record and record a perfect 9-0 mark in conference play.
In addition, head coach Origenes “Kiko” Benoit was named the Northeast, Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
“We have to work hard to keep the tradition here at Miami Dade [College],” said Benoit, whose team won back-to-back National Championships in 2016 and 2017. “We’re gonna keep working hard and do to the best of our abilities to keep representing [MDC].”
Although the team was fifth in the country in total blocks last season, Benoit thinks it can improve in that category. They averaged 2.82 blocks per set last season and had 263 total blocks.
“The team is taller this year,” Benoit said.
This year’s team features five players who are at least six-feet tall including sophomore middle blocker Mariela Jimenez who is 6-foot-four-inches tall. Jimenez was second on the team last year with 71 blocks.
The team will also need to replace several key sophomores from last year’s squad including defensive specialist Paola Pimentel who transferred to Georgia Tech. Pimentel had 608 digs on the season, was named to the Florida College System Athletics Association All-Tournament Team and First-Team All-Southern Conference teams and was the Most Outstanding Player at the State Tournament.
To replace the outgoing talent, the Lady Sharks will count on nine impressive freshmen including Nikola Ozaniakova, a setter from Silina, Slovakia, Sila Ozyurek, a middle blocker from Kocaeli, Turkey, Kiaraliz Perez, a defensive specialist from Puerto Rico, and Briyith Prado, a defensive specialist from Valle, Colombia.
In addition to Jimenez, top returning players are Brenda Arango, a middle blocker from Buenaventura, Colombia who led the team with 94 total blocks, Erika Asencio, an outside hitter from New York who had 831 total attacks, Janelly Ceopa, an outside hitter from Lima, Peru who had 668 total attacks, and Stephania Vallejo, a defensive specialist from Miami who had 110 digs.
“I think the key to everything is to play united,” Ceopa said. “We have great talent and play well together.”
Last year, the Lady Sharks’ only loss came in the semifinals of the national tournament versus eventual national champion, Iowa Western. With a third place finish, the Lady Sharks have aspirations for more this season.
“National Champions is the goal for the season,” Ozyurek said.
And maybe even a little revenge. The Lady Sharks play Iowa Western in the second game of the season on Aug. 27 at 12:30 p.m. in a tournament in Fort Myers.
The Lady Sharks’ start their season on the road on Aug. 21 versus Daytona State College at 12 p.m.