March 5, 2008
Smith receives Stokes award
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss ) - Volunteering in and around Bay County has been a way of life for Caitlin Smith. Since her high school days at Mosley, the Gulf Coast sophomore has been lending her time to kids, the less fortunate and various fundraising events. Volleyball has also been a way of life for Smith. Since she was in fifth grade, Smith has played the sport that landed her a scholarship with the Lady Commodores. Last season, she helped Gulf Coast win its first Panhandle Conference championship since 2003 and the accompanying trip to the state tournament.
News Herald Article

November 30, 2007
BORTNICK LEAVING GC VOLLEYBALL
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss ) - Gulf Coast volleyball co-head coach Kristin Bortnick will not return to the Lady Commodores next season after five years with the program, she said this week. Bortnick will move to Seattle with her husband, whose job transferred them to the Pacific Northwest. “(I’m) not happy,” she said. “I’m a warm-weather person. I love the warm weather, so moving to the cold weather is going to be very hard. I feel like I have a home at Gulf Coast with the administration and (Athletic Director) Gregg Wolfe and working with my best friend (co-head coach Terri Bedford), it doesn’t get any better than that.” Bortnick, who played volleyball at Virginia Tech and coached high school volleyball at Mosley prior to Gulf Coast, helped lead the Lady Commodores to a 75-81 record, two Panhandle Conference titles and two berths in the FCCAA state tournament, including this year. She will return to Panama City in the spring to help recruit. Bedford is expected to return next season.
News Herald Article

November 3, 2007
GULF COAST ELIMIINATED IN WINTERHAVEN
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss ) - Gulf Coast was eliminated from the FCCAA state volleyball tournament Friday with a 30-21, 30-14, 30-10 loss to Pasco in the consolation round. The Lady Commodores fell 3-1 to St. Petersburg College on Thursday. Caitlyn Smith paced Gulf Coast on Friday with 15 assists and 12 digs. Lydia Graff had 12 digs and Brittany Dennison nine kills for the Lady Commodores. This was Gulf Coast’s first state tournament appearance since 2003. The Lady Commodores finished the season 17-18. “It’s definitely was nice to be back in the state tournament,” GCCC coach Kristin Bortnick said. “The scores don’t show how hard we played and I felt we represented our conference well. “We would have liked to win a match, but it didn’t work out for us. We won the conference and made it back here so we had a really good season.”
News Herald Article

October 30, 2007
LADY COMMODORES SUPPORT CANCER SOCIETY
On October 29, 2007, the Gulf Coast Lady Commodore Basketball, Softball, and Volleyball Teams participated in a Breast Cancer Awareness Day on the GCCC campus. All 3 teams and their coaches wore pink shirts designed by Kristin Bortnik, placed a “Think Pink” banner in the student union, and recognized three women on campus that are breast cancer “SURVIVORS.” It was part of a national effort as October is the month for National Breast Cancer Awareness. Go Commodores, "Think Pink".

October 28, 2007
GC NOT INTIMIDATED BY STATES BEST
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss ) - After a three-year hiatus from the state tournament, this is what Gulf Coast gets Thursday in Winter Haven: an internationally laden, bigger, stronger, faster St. Petersburg College squad. A problem? The Lady Commodores don’t seem to think so. “This group has never been afraid of anything,” GC co-head coach Terry Bedford said. Including a bracket against the top three Suncoast Conference teams. The Lady Commodores (16-16) play the Lady Titans (15-7) at noon Thursday. Gulf Coast would need to win four matches to claim the Gulf District bracket title, and then would play a fifth against the Atlantic District winner to determine the overall state champion. Gulf Coast has not won more than three straight matches this year, but the challenge hasn’t scared the freshmen-heavy Lady Commodores. “They’re not affected,” Bortnick said. “They’re not really phased. Even when we play teams that are really, really big and they see them warm up, they’re just not. They laugh and joke about things. To advance Gulf Coast will have to play to its strengths, which both coaches said are opposites of what St. Pete is known for.

Since it’s uncharted waters for the freshmen and sophomores, injured second-year player Laurie Enslen from Bay said the older players are treating the state tournament like any other big game. At the same time, they’re getting themselves ready while they pump up the freshmen. The sophomores’ advice has been simple to the young players: “I think we should take it one game at a time, one point at a time, one play at a time,” Enslen said.
News Herald Article

October 28, 2007
GULF COAST 1-3 IN TAMPA TOURNEY
NEWS HERALD (Roy Houpt ) - Gulf Coast Community College defeated St. John’s CC 32-34, 30-15, 30-16, 30-27 to finish 1-3 in the Hillsborough Community Collegek volleyball tournament on Saturday. Gulf Coast evened its season record at 16-16. The Lady Commodores dropped two matches in the tourney on Friday. MCC Longview beat GCCC 30-18, 30-9, 30-19 and host Hillsborough beat Gulf Coast 30-13, 30-17, 30-15. South Florida CC beat Gulf Coast 30-25, 30-28, 30-21 on Saturday morning. Gulf Coast leaders for the tourney included: Brittany Dennison 38 kills and 23 digs; Natalie Pierre 21 kills and 11 blocks; Casey Slater 19 kills, four aces and 44 digs; Kim Love 15 kills, 15 digs and seven blocks; Lauren Elsworth 13 kills, six aces and 11 blocks; Caitlin Smith 88 assists, seven aces and 46 digs; and Lydia Graff 67 digs. The Lady Commodores play their final home match (Sophomore Night) on Monday against Faulkner University at 6 p.m. at the Billy Harrison Field House. Gulf Coast leaves for the state tournament on Wednesday. GC’s first match is Thursday.
News Herald Article

October 24, 2007
LADY COMMODORE SWEEP PIRATES
NEWS HERALD (Roy Houpt ) - The Gulf Coast volleyball team completed a season sweep of Pensacola Junior College with a five-set decision on Tuesday night at the Billy Harrison Field House. Gulf Coast (4-0 in the Panhandle Conference and 15-13 overall) won 26-30, 31-29, 30-26, 26-30, 17-15. Caitlin Smith led Gulf Coast with 44 assists and 21 digs. Brittany Dennison had 13 kills and four blocks, Natalie Pierre had 10 kills and eight blocks, Lauren Elsworth had 11 kills and five blocks and Lydia Graff contributed 28 digs. The Lady Commodores will compete in the Hillsborough Community College tournament on Friday and Saturday in Tampa. GC plays MCC Longview at 11:30 a.m. and Hillsborough CC at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Gulf Coast plays its final home match on Monday against Faulkner University at 6 p.m. The Lady Commodores will compete in the state tournament on Nov 1-3.
News Herald Article

October 16, 2007
GCCC VS PJC CANCELED
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss ) - Tonight’s Gulf Coast-Pensacola volleyball game was canceled because the Lady Commodores will attend Ashley Slonina’s funeral, coach Terri Bedford said. Slonina, a Gulf Coast volleyball player from 2005-06, was killed Friday in a motorcycle accident in Gainesville. Bedford said the game will not be rescheduled. The Lady Commodores defeated the Lady Pirates 3-0 on Oct. 2 to clinch their first Panhandle Conference title since 2003. Gulf Coast will open the state tournament on Nov. 1 against the Suncoast Conference’s third-place finisher.
News Herald Article

October 13, 2007
LADY COMMODORES DEFEAT OAKTON CC
NEWS HERALD (Eric Jorgensen ) - Brittany Dennison had 11 kills, 16 digs and three blocks to lead Gulf Coast to a 30-21, 30-23, 30-22 win Friday over Oakton Community College of Des Plaines, Ill., in the team’s first game at the Pensacola Junior College Invitational volleyball tournament. Dee Charleston had 13 kills and nine digs, Caitlin Smith had 30 assists and 17 digs, Casey Slater had 12 digs, and Lydia Graff had 19 digs for the Lady Commodores. The win pushed Gulf Coast’s overall record over .500, at 13-12. The Lady Commodores play two games today in the tournament, against Faulkner State at 8 a.m. and Central Alabama Community College at noon.
News Herald Article

October 3, 2007
CONFERENCE CROWN!
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss ) - With Gulf Coast four points away from its first Panhandle Conference championship in four years, a small smile crept across the face of coach Terri Bedford. She, along with fellow cohead coach Kristin Bortnick, haven’t smiled much against Pensacola since 2003, when, as first-year head coaches, they led Gulf Coast (11-12, 3-0 PC) to its most recent state tournament appearance. The Lady Pirates have dominated the two-team conference since then, winning three straight crowns. After Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Pensacola, Bedford and Bortnick let out a grin that reached from one end of Billy Harrison Field House to the other. It was Gulf Coast’s third straight victory over Pensacola in the best-of-five series in the conference. “I think we were more nervous than they were,” Bortnick said after the 30-18, 30-23, 30-18 win. “I’m so proud of the girls.” But Bedford isn’t done yet. The Gulf Coast math teacher isn’t satisfied with just three wins over PJC, she wants all five this year. Through the first three matches, Gulf Coast has won nine of 10 games, a vast difference from when the Lady Commodores lost six straight matches spanning all of 2006 and into 2005. Sophomore Caitlin Smith wants to reverse that streak, putting six straight losses on PJC. The Mosley setter was still basking in the win when she said it might take some time for it to sink in. She had 28 assists and four aces. “I think we were all nervous, but we knew we were going to win,” she said. Gulf Coast did so, Bedford said, in ugly fashion. A block by Pierre put the Lady Commodores within three points of the win and an ace by sophomore setter Lydia Graff helped close the 30-18 victory. Freshman Casey Slater had 15 digs. Even though Gulf Coast has the conference title wrapped up and can start making its hotel reservations in Lakeland for the state tournament on Nov. 1-3, the regular season isn’t over yet. “We’re a lot more relaxed as far as conference goes,” Smith said. “But we still have goals.” Still not crossed off are a 20-win season and a clean sweep of Pensacola. But the most important goal is. Going to state? Check!
News Herald Article

September 30, 2007
LADY COMMODORES GO 1-3 IN BREVARD TOURNEY
NEWS HERALD (Eric Jorgensen ) - Gulf Coast Community College won its first match, then dropped three straight, in a volleyball tournament at Brevard Community College. The Lady Commodores opened the tournament Friday with a victory over Lake Sumpter, 21-30, 30-13, 30-18, 16-14. Gulf Coast then lost to Polk 30-28, 30-21, 29-31, 30-24. On Saturday, Gulf Coast lost a morning match to Manatee 30-23, 31-29, 25-30, 30-25, before losing to Broward 30-26, 30-16, 28-30, 30-21. Gulf Coast leaders included Brittany Dennison with 48 kills, nine aces and 49 digs; Lauren Ellsworth with 31 kills, eight aces and 14 blocks; Dee Charleston with 25 kills and 10 blocks; Natalie Pierre with 24 kills and 19 blocks; Caitlin Smith with 135 assists, 10 aces, 69 digs and seven blocks; Casey Slater with 16 aces and 59 digs; and Lydia Graff with 98 digs. Gulf Coast (10-12) returns home to play Panhandle Conference opponent Pensacola at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
News Herald Article

September 24, 2007
CAITLIN SMITH NAMED FCCAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Caitlin Smith, (Fr, 5-8, Panama City, FL), a freshman setter from Gulf Coast Community College, is the FCCAA Player of the Week. Smith demonstrates outstanding leadership abilities. In two matches this week against Pensacola Junior College and Faulkner, Smith had a total of 75 assists (12.5/game) and 15 service aces. She also contributed on defense with 4.83 digs per game.

Weekly Stats thru 09-21-07

September 23, 2007
GC VOLLEYBALL WINS A PAIR
NEWS HERALD (Roy Houpt ) - Gulf Coast Community College won two volleyball matches on Saturday as Florida teams went 11-5 against Alabama schools in the two-day Panhandle Engineering Tournament at the Billy Harrison Field House. Four of the teams in the tournament were from Florida and four from Alabama. Gulf Coast, which evened its season record at 9-9 overall, defeated Southern Union CC 30-21, 30-20 and 30-18, and Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) 30-18, 30-22, 26-30 and 30-25. Leaders on the day for GCCC were Lauren Elsworth with 18 kills, 9 aces and 10 blocks, Brittany Dennison with 16 kills, 9 aces and 18 digs and Caitlin Smith with 51 assists, 10 aces and 18 digs. The Lady Commodores, 3-1 in the tourney, play in the Brevard Invitational next weekend in Melbourne. Gulf Coast’s next home match is Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. against Panhandle Conference rival Pensacola Junior College. PJC finished 1-3 in the Gulf Coast tourney.
News Herald Article

September 22, 2007
COMMODORES SPLIT ON TOURNEY
NEWS HERALD (Eric Jorgensen ) - Dee Charleston had 14 kills, 12 digs and 12 blocks to lead host Gulf Coast Community College’s volleyball team to a split Friday on the first day of the eight-team Panhandle Engineering Tournament. Gulf Coast opened with a win over Gadsden State Community College 30-28, 14-30, 30-23, 30-25, before falling in the second match to Northwest Shoals Community College 30-19, 30-17, 30-20. Lydia Graff had 22 digs for Gulf Coast; Brittany Dennison had 11 kills, 16 digs and four blocks; Caitlin Smith had 38 assists and 16 digs and Casey Slater had five aces and 12 digs. Gulf Coast plays two more matches today, at 11 a.m. against Southern Union and at 3 p.m. against Wallace State-Hanceville. Four of the teams in the tournament are from Florida and four from Alabama. However, Gulf Coast won’t play any of the Florida schools during the two-day event. Gulf Coast is 7-9 overall this season.
News Herald Article

September 10, 2007
DENNISON NAMED VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brittany Dennison (Palm Beach, FL), a freshman outside hitter from Gulf Coast Community College, is this week's FCCAA Player of the Week. Dennison had 60 kills, 67 digs, 4 aces and 5 blocks. She was also selected for the All Tournament team at the FCCJ Tournament (8/31 - 9/1).

Also, Lydia Graff (GCCC) made the states 30 Dig Club posting 32 digs vs. St. John's River CC on 9/1/07.

Weekly Stats thru 09-21-07

September 7, 2007
COMMODORES FALL TO HILLSBOROUGH
NEWS HERALD (Pat McCann) - Defending state champion Hillsborough Community College remained unbeaten on the season with a 30-17, 30-10, 30-22 win over Gulf Coast Thursday night in the Billy Harrison Fieldhouse. The Lady Commodores, 4-6, were led by Dee Charleston with six kills and Natalie Pierre with five. Lydia Graff had 16 digs and Caitlin Smith 17 assists. Gulf Coast plays at Faulkner State Monday.
News Herald Article

September 5, 2007
LADY COMMODORES SINK PIRATES
NEWS HERALD (Josh Weinfuss) - Following Gulf Coast’s volleyball win over Pensacola Tuesday night, the Lady Commodores were subdued. Some were worn out. They didn’t act like they just snapped a six-match losing streak to their sole Panhandle Conference rival 30-17, 23-30, 30-19, 30-18. “Oh my gosh,” said a tired Lydia Graff. “We did not win a single game last year and to finally win a game … words can’t express it.” Graff’s defensive effort at libero held the Lady Commodores together throughout the match. The sophomore finished with 22 digs. Some of the hype surrounding the annual five-match conference series between Gulf Coast (4-5) and PJC (0-9) was absent because of the Lady Pirates’ winless record. But to the Lady Commodores, Graff said, beating PJC still is beating PJC. Gulf Coast took an early 7-2 lead in Game 1 and expanded it to 17-7 after the first of three Brittany Dennison aces. Dee Charleston’s kill gave Gulf Coast a 19-11 edge and sparked a 6-1 run that put the first game out of reach. In Dennison’s first home match, the freshman lived up to her coaches’ lofty praise. She finished with the best all-around game by any Lady Commodore with 12 digs, 10 kills, six blocks and three aces. “Brittany has developed into our most consistent player,” coach Kristin Bortnick said. “She’s stepped up.” In the second game, Bortnick said Gulf Coast made mistakes and didn’t execute. The Lady Commodores finished with 12 missed serves. Pensacola looked like a different team from the first game. After the Lady Commodores took a 7-3 lead on freshman Casey Slater’s kill, PJC came back to tie the game at 7-7 on a Gulf Coast error. At 10-10, PJC scored four straight points and never trailed again. With the match tied 1-1, Graff said Gulf Coast pushed a little harder and got mentally tougher. The Lady Commodores also got back sophomore Laurie Enslen, who had been out with a shoulder injury. The Bay product’s first action of the season came in the third game. Enslen helped lead the Lady Commodores, who started Game 3 with six straight points. From there, Gulf Coast easily pulled away. Dennison’s kill gave Gulf Coast an 8-2 lead, which the Lady Commodores increased to 15-4. Toward the end of Game 3, when fatigue began to set in, Dennison added another kill to give Gulf Coast a 25-18 advantage. Enslen and Dennison combined for a block two points later. Game 4 was much like Game 3 — Gulf Coast dominated. The Lady Commodores took a 12-5 lead on Natalie Pierre’s kill. Gulf Coast led 21-10 when Charleston skied for one of her eight kills. She added five blocks. The match ended on a stretch of five of Gulf Coast’s best points of the match. Enslen started with a block, which Dennison followed with an ace. Charleston had consecutive kills and Caitlin Smith, who had 31 assists, sealed the win with a kill. While Gulf Coast was relieved of the weight of the losing streak, including an 0-5 record against PJC last year, the Lady Commodores know they still have four more matches against the Lady Pirates. “It was a good win,” Bortnick said. “It was a bit of a roller coaster. It was a good first match against them.” Gulf Coast hosts Hillsborough Community College on Thursday at 6 p.m.
News Herald Article

September 2, 2007
GC VOLLEYBALL WINLESS IN JAX TOURNEY
NEWS HERALD (Pat McCann ) - Gulf Coast dropped two matches Saturday to finish 0-4 in the Florida Community College-Jacksonville volleyball tournament. The Lady Commodores, 3-5, fell to Manatee 30-26, 30-17, 23-30, 30-22 and St. John’s 28-30, 30-25, 30-18, 23-30, and 15-13. Leaders were Brittany Dennison with 36 kills and 27 digs, Caitlin Smith with 74 assists and 21 digs, Lauren Elsworth with 14 kills and five aces, Lydia Graff with 56 digs, and Dee Charleston with 13 kills and nine blocks. Dennison was named to the all-tournament team in the eight-school event. Gulf Coast hosts Pensacola 6 p.m. Tuesday in its first Panhandle Conference match.
News Herald Article

Sept 1, 2007
GC VOLLEYBALL TEAM DROPS TWO
NEWS HERALD (Eric Jorgensen) - Gulf Coast dropped a pair of games Friday on the first day of a tournament hosted by Florida Community College-Jacksonville — losing to Indian River 30-14, 30-21, 30-13, and FCC 30-13, 30-19, 30-23. Brittany Dennison led Gulf Coast with 27 digs and 12 kills. Lauren Elsworth added 10 kills and three aces, Caitlin Smith had 37 assists, Lydia Graff had 16 digs, and Dee Charleston had 14 digs. Gulf Coast (3-3) plays Manatee this morning and will have another tournament match later in the day. The Lady Commodores host Pensacola Junior College at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their home opener.
News Herald Article

August 26, 2007
GC VOLLEYBALL TEAM WINS TWO
NEWS HERALD (Eric Jorgensen) - Brittany Dennison had 20 kills, seven aces and 14 digs in three matches, as the Gulf Coast Community College volleyball team opened its season Saturday at a tournament in Alabama. The Lady Commodores won two of three matches. Gulf Coast opened with a 30-27, 30-26 victory over Jeff Davis and followed that with a 30-10, 3-11 win over Southern Union. Gulf Coast lost its final match, 22-30, 30-32, against Wallace State. Casey Slater had 12 aces and 17 digs, and Kim Love had 13 kills for the Lady Commodores. Gulf Coast will play Jeff Davis at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Brewton, Ala. The Lady Commodores play in a tournament next weekend in Jacksonville before returning to Panama City for their first home match on Sept. 4 against Pensacola.
News Herald Article

August 16, 2007
LADY COMMODORES OPEN SEASON AUGUST 25
Gulf Coast Community College Lady Commodore Volleyball team will open their season August 25th in Gadsden, Alabama versus Jeff Davis CC, Southern Union CC, and Wallace-Hanceville CC. The Lady Commodores are led by returning sophomores Laurie Enslen, Lydia Graff, and Caitlin Smith. They open their home slate on Tuesday, September 4th vs Pensacola Junior College which is their conference opener as well. Come out and support your Lady Commodore Volleyball team.

August 13, 2007
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY'S VOLLEYBALL CLINIC
Gulf Coast Community College Lady Commodore Volleyball team will host a Volleyball Clinic for grades 6-10 at the Billy Harrison Field House on August 17-18. Registration will be at 2:30 pm on August 17. Contact Terri Bedford if you have any questions at 850-769-1551, ext 3362 or tbedford@gulfcoast.edu.

What: Volleyball Clinic
For: Grades 6-10
Where: Billy Harrison Field House
When: August 17 (3:00 pm - 6:00 pm)
When: August 18 (9:00 pm - 12:00 pm)

Cost: $30, all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society

February 28, 2007
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY'S RELAY FOR LIFE
Gulf Coast Community College Lady Commodore Volleyball team is participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life on April 20th & 21st. In order to raise money for the relay, we are selling car wash tickets for $5. We will be washing cars on Thursday March 22nd and Monday April 2nd. If these days do not fit your schedule, please let me know and we will try to accommodate you. Please see any volleyball player or let me know if you are interested in purchasing a ticket. If you do not want a car wash, we welcome any donation for this cause. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. Each year our goal is to raise $1000.

What: Car Wash
When: March 22nd, 12 to 4:00 pm
When: April 2nd, 12 to 4:00 pm
Where: Parking Lot behind Wellness Building

October 29, 2006
LADY COMMODORES WRAP UP SEASON
The Gulf Coast Lady Commodore Volleyball team wrapped up their 2006 this past weekend. Gulf Coast defeated St. Johns River CC 3-0, lost to Webber CC 1-3, lost to South Florida CC 0-3, and lost to Hillsborough CC 0-3. The Lady Commodores finished 15-17 on the season.

October 25, 2006
PENSACOLA SWEEPS GULF COAST
Panhandle Conference volleyball champion Pensacola Junior College swept visiting Gulf Coast 30-24, 30-28, 30-25 in the final conference match of the season on Tuesday. PJC, 5-0 in matches with Gulf Coast this season, will play in the state tournament in two weeks. Shajuana Pina had 11 kills and four blocks for the Lady Commodores. GC’s Courtney Donahay had 14 assists, Caitlin Smith had 20 assists, Shari Steele had 15 kills and 17 digs and Lydia Graff added 14 digs. Gulf Coast, 14-14 overall, closes the season in a tournament this weekend in Tampa. GC plays two matches on Friday and two on Saturday.
News Herald Article

October 21, 2006
GC SWEEPS JEFF DAVIS
The Gulf Coast Community College volleyball team raised its record above .500 with a three-game sweep of Jefferson Davis Community College on Friday. The Commodores won 30-16, 30-20, 30-19 to reach 14-13 on the season. Laurie Enslen (11 kills, 5 blocks) and Shajuana Pina (7 kills, 7 digs) led Gulf Coast. Courtney Donahay (16 assists, 11 digs), Lydia Graff (15 digs, 3 aces) and Shari Steele (5 kills, 13 digs) also made important contributions. Gulf Coast plays Pensacola on Tuesday in Milton.
News Herald Article

October 14, 2006
GC WINS TWO IN PJC TOURNEY
The Gulf Coast volleyball team swept the first two matches of the PJC Invitational tournament, beating Faulkner State Community College 30-18, 31-29, and Gadsden State Community College 18-30, 30-16, 15-3. The Lady Commodores play two more games in the tournament today, facing Jefferson Davis Community College from Alabama, and Oakton Community College from Illinois. On Friday, Gulf Coast was led by Laurie Enslen with 13 kills, seven blocks and four aces. Teammate Shajuana Pina had 10 kills and six blocks. Others with significant contributions included Caitlin Smith (23 assists, 15 digs, four aces), Lydia Graff (31 digs), Brittany Watkins (seven kills, seven blocks) and Shari Steele (eight kills, 12 digs, three blocks). The Lady Commodores raised their record to 11-13.
News Herald Article

October 4, 2006
PJC SWEEPS COMMODORES FOR STATE BID
Pensacola Junior College earned the Panhandle Conference’s automatic bid to the state volleyball tournament Tuesday night with its third win of the season over Gulf Coast Community College. The Lady Pirates won 30-28, 30-27, 30-20 to clinch first place in the two-team conference with a 3-0 record. Gulf Coast fell to 0-3 and 6-8 overall with two matches remaining against PJC. Laurie Enslen led the Lady Commodores with nine kills and seven blocks, Caitlin Smith had 11 assists, Sandi Barnes had nine assists and three aces, Lynda Graff had 16 digs and Brittany Watkins added four kills and four blocks. The Lady Commodores will play in a weekend tournament at Muscle Shoals, Ala. Gulf Coast then hosts PJC on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
News Herald Article

October 1, 2006
LADY COMMODORES GO 3-1 IN TOURNEY
Gulf Coast lost to Northwest Shoals and defeated Wallace State to complete the two-day Panhandle Engineering Invitational volleyball tournament with a 3-1 record. The Lady Commodores fell to Northwest Shoals 31-29, 26-30, 30-26, 30-18 and defeated Wallace State 25-30, 30-17, 30-11, 30-23. Six schools competed, but no team places were tabulated. For Gulf Coast, Tijuana Piano had a combined 13 kills, Laurie Ensile (Bay) 26 kills and 7 blocks, Brittany Watkins 24 kills and 4 blocks, Caitlin Smith (Mosley) 41 assists, Shari Steele (Mosley) 13 kills and 38 digs, Ashley Slovenia (Mosley) 10 kills, 26 digs and 4 blocks, and Lydia Grave (Mosley) had 52 digs. The Lady Commodores play a Panhandle Conference match at Pensacola Junior College in Milton on Tuesday. They trail 2-0 in the best-of-five to decide a state tournament berth, and must win the next three matches against PJC to advance.
News Herald Article

September 30, 2006
LADY COMMODORES SWEEP TWO TOURNEY MATCHES
The Gulf Coast volleyball team snagged a pair of victories on Friday at the Panhandle Engineering Invitational at the Billy Harrison Field House. Gulf Coast defeated Gadsden State 30-19, 30-27, 31-29 and Wallace State 35-33, 30-24, 30-19. Shajuna Pina led the way with 12 kills and eight blocks, Laurie Enslen added 13 kills and six blocks and Brittany Watkins had 17 kills and seven blocks for the Lady Commodores. Dig leaders included Lydia Graff with 29, Courtney Donahay with 23 and Shari Steele with 25. Caitlin Smith had 19 digs and 28 assists for Gulf Coast. Gulf Coast faces Northwest Shoals today at 11 a.m. and then a rematch with Wallace State at 1 p.m.
News Herald Article

September 20, 2006
LADY PIRATES STEAL SHOW
It is back to the drawing board for the Gulf Coast women’s volleyball team. After winning the first game Tuesday night 30-22 against conference foe Pensacola Junior College, the Lady Commodores looked poise to even the series at one win each. But after dropping three straight games 30-27, 30-21 and 30-23 to PJC, Gulf Coast fell into a similar position to a year ago after the 3-1 loss. Gulf Coast is 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the five-game Panhandle Conference series. The winner of three matches goes to the state tournament.
News Herald Article

September 8, 2006
GC VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO HILLSBOROUGH
Laurie Enslen had seven kills, seven aces and six blocks, but it wasn’t enough for the Gulf Coast Community College volleyball team, which fell to Hillsborough Community College 17-30, 16-30, 27-30. Shajuana Pina had six kills, and Mandi Moore and Shari Steele had 10 digs each for the Commodores. The loss dropped Gulf Coast to 2-4. The team’s next match is against Pensacola Community College at hom on Sept. 19.
News Herald Article

September 7, 2006
LADY COMMODORES SET FOR HOME OPENER
The Gulf Coast Lady Commodores look to even their 2-3 record tonight in a junior college volleyball match against Hillsborough Community College at the Billy Harrison Field House at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, the Lady Commodores dropped the first of five Panhandle Conference matches against rival Pensacola Junior College. Last weekend, Gulf Coast finished 2-2 in the Florida Community College-Jacksonville Tournament.
News Herald Article

September 6, 2006
LADY COMMODORES FALL TO PJC
Gulf Coast’s goal to sweep Pensacola Junior College ended Tuesday night when it lost the first of five Panhandle Conference matches this season to PJC. The Lady Commodores lost the match 3-1, falling 27-30, 30-28, 28-30, 20-30. Freshman Laurie Enslen led the Commodores with 12 kills, with sophomores Shajuana Pina, Brittany Watkins and Shari Steele right behind her with eight each. Freshman Lydia Graf had 24 digs over the four games. Caitlin Smith dished out 28 assists, as well. Gulf Coast’s next match will be against Hillsborough Community College on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Lady Commodores next match against conference rival PJC will be Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Gulf Coast.
News Herald Article

September 3, 2006
GCCC SPLITS MATCHES
The Gulf Coast Community College women’s volleyball team split a pair of matches in the Florida Community College-Jacksonville Invitational on Saturday. The Lady Commodores, 2-2, fell to St. Johns River Community College 28-30, 30-15, 30-21, 30-22 in the final pool play match. Gulf Coast then beat South Florida CC 30-18, 30-24, 30-20. The Lady Commodores open Panhandle Conference play on Tuesday against Pensacola Junior College in Milton at 6 p.m. Gulf Coast plays its first home match on Thursday night against Hillsborough Community College at 6 p.m.
News Herald Article

September 2, 2006
GC VOLLEYBALL SPITS IN JAX TOURNEY
The Gulf Coast Community College volleyball team split its two games at the Florida Community College-Jacksonville Invitational on Friday. The Lady Commodores opened the day with a win over Manatee, taking the match 30-24, 30-21, 21-30, 26-30, 15-13. Palm Beach beat Gulf Coast in the second match, 23-30, 30-28, 30-28, 30-19.
News Herald Article

August 31, 2006
GC ANXIOUS TO SERVE
Kristin Bortnick and Terri Bedford have a problem most coaches only dream of. They can’t decide on a starting six. But it’s not because they don’t have six quality choices. It’s because they have 12. When the Gulf Coast women’s volleyball team starts its 2006 season Friday at a tournament in Jacksonville, Bortnick and Bedford will have a supply of players ready to see the court. Half of them, though, never have donned the blue and gold before. “We’re still trying to find a solid six,” Bortnick said. “Good problem for coaches to have. We have lots of flexibility this season.”
News Herald Article

August 4, 2006
THE GOOD GETS BETTER AT GCCC
It’s not out with the old and in the with new this women’s volleyball season at Gulf Coast Community College. It’s out with the good and in, with what could be, the better. Looking forward from last season’s 18-14 record, the Lady Commodores welcome six new recruits for the 2006 season. But Laurie Enslen, Lydia Graff, Sandi Barnes, Mandi Moore, Caitlin Smith and Cheltse Hale will encounter lofty expectations.
News Herald Article