September 15, 2025
Lake-Sumter State College Off to Undefeated Start of Volleyball Season
By Kyle Coppola
Lake-Sumter State College Off to Undefeated Start of Volleyball Season
The Lake-Sumter State College volleyball team is off to one of the best starts in program history, opening the 2025 season with an 11-0 record and without dropping a single match.
The Lakehawks have leaned on a core of young talent, led by freshman outside hitter Sammi Beatty, a Tavares High graduate, who has tallied 131 kills to pace the team’s offense. Joining her up front is Eustis High alum Brooke Fintak, who has added 101 kills and emerged as a steady contributor.
(Sophomore Anna Evans “left” celebrates with freshman Mashayla Collins “right”.)
At setter, Winter Park native Giada Viti has orchestrated the attack with 245 assists, keeping the Lakehawks’ offense balanced and difficult to defend. The entire team is entirely in sync and that’s dangerous for the upcoming opponents the lady Lakehawks will play.
The hot start comes under second-year head coach Alisha Wintersdorf, who previously built Tavares High into a consistent contender. Many players on this Lake-Sumter roster have deep ties to Lake County, having competed together on the American Athletic Club Volleyball team that captured a national championship earlier this year in Salt Lake City, Utah.
(The Lady Lakehawks volleyball team is off to one of the best starts in school history at 11-0.)
“This group has such great chemistry,” Coach Wintersdorf says. “Many have been playing together for years, and you can see the trust and confidence they have in each other on the court.”
The Lakehawks will look to keep their perfect record intact when they travel to Palatka on Tuesday night to face St. Johns River State College.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
