SARASOTA, Fla. - New College of Florida volleyball will No. 9 St. Thomas on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the NCF Fieldhouse, located at 600 Tallevast Road, Suite 204, in Sarasota.
NCF enters the match at 15-5 overall and 7-3 in Sun Conference play following a sweep at Florida Memorial last Saturday. The Mighty Banyans sit third in the conference standings.
St. Thomas enters at 16-5 overall and 10-0 in conference play. The Bobcats have won 12 consecutive matches and defeated New College in the first meeting this season.
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A NEW HOME COURT
Saturday marks New College's first match at the NCF Fieldhouse as the facility begins welcoming fans with a soft opening.
The Fieldhouse is located at 600 Tallevast Road, Suite 204, in Sarasota. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Mighty Banyans bring a 7-1 home record into the matchup.
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY AGAINST THE BOBCATS
St. Thomas defeated New College 3-0 on Sept. 19 in Miami Gardens in the first meeting between the teams this season.
Payton Bertke distributed 26 assists and contributed five digs, four kills and two assisted blocks for the Bobcats.
Saturday is also a rematch of the 2025 Sun Conference Tournament final, which St. Thomas won in five sets. New College will look for its first victory in the series after dropping the previous seven meetings.
THIRD PLACE WITH FOUR TO PLAY
New College enters Saturday third in The Sun Conference at 7-3, trailing St. Thomas at 10-0 and Southeastern at 9-1.
The Mighty Banyans hold a two-match advantage over fourth-place Keiser, which is 5-5, with four conference matches remaining.
A victory Saturday would give NCF eight conference wins and hand the Bobcats their first league loss of the season.
SERVING UP A CHALLENGE
New College leads The Sun Conference in service aces and aces per set. Through 20 matches, the Mighty Banyans have recorded 224 aces and average 2.91 per set.
Soraya Nacero leads the conference's individual rankings with 0.86 aces per set, followed by Wiktoria Telecka at 0.71. Madison Goin ranks fourth at 0.47.
St. Thomas has allowed 2.01 opponent aces per set, giving New College an opportunity to apply pressure from the service line.
ATTACK MEETS THE BLOCK
Telecka leads The Sun Conference with 4.27 kills and 5.31 points per set. She also ranks sixth in hitting percentage at .260.
Nacero ranks fourth in the conference with 3.02 kills and 4.01 points per set, while Goin ranks 10th with 2.07 kills per set.
St. Thomas counters with a conference-leading 2.05 blocks per set. Isabel Narbutas leads the individual block rankings at 0.93 per set and ranks second in hitting percentage at .300.
KEEPING OPPONENTS IN CHECK
New College ranks second in The Sun Conference in opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to a .127 mark in the conference's team statistics. The Mighty Banyans also allow a league-low 9.28 opponent kills per set.
Khalia Horta ranks fourth in the conference with 4.25 digs per set, while Nacero ranks seventh at 3.20. Katelyn Pulver ranks eighth in blocks per set at 0.57.
That defense will face a St. Thomas offense leading the conference with a .248 hitting percentage. Raya Mlyakova ranks third individually with 3.57 kills per set.
KNOW THE OPPONENT: ST. THOMAS
2026 Record: 16-5, 10-0
Record vs. NCF All-Time: St. Thomas leads, 7-0
Last Match: Defeated Warner at home on Oct. 17
Key Player: Payton Bertke (746 assists, 9.69 assists per set, 146 digs and 19 blocks; recorded a season-high 52 assists and 17 digs against Southeastern on Oct. 3)
UP NEXT: NCF travels to Warner on Wednesday, Oct. 28, for a Sun Conference match at 7 p.m.
