SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo volleyball team travels to Big Rapids, Mich. this Friday and Saturday to open the 2021 season at the Ferris State Tournament. The Lions will face a pair of top-25 opponents at the tournament as well as the host Bulldogs and McKendree.
 
Saint Leo, who was selected to finish fifth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and is receiving votes in the 2021 Preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, is under the direction of first-year head coach Natalia Koryzna who spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Westminster College. Koryzna built Westminster volleyball into a top-10 program last season, the first national ranking in the program's history.
 
The Lions will open up their first day of competition with the host Bulldogs of Ferris State at 1 p.m. on Friday before taking on No. 13 Hillsdale at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Saint Leo will face No. 21 Missouri – St. Louis at 9 a.m. before closing out the tournament with a match-up against McKendree at 11:30 a.m.
 
The Lions will play their first full season since taking home the NCAA South Region Championship for the first time in program history in 2019. Two starters off that championship team remain including libero Payton Bellano and setter Anna Garrett. The Lions also return the leader in kills off the 2019 squad in senior Ashley Quero who surpassed 1,000 career kills this past spring in an abbreviated four-match schedule. Other notable returners include setter Skylar Singleton who saw action in all but three matches in 2019 as well as outside hitters Brooke Turner and Madi Certain who look to move up in the rotation in 2021.
 
One area that will see an entire new lineup will be at middle blocker where the Lions lost Honorable Mention All-American Anilise Fitzi as well as Annabella Arcari who graduated with the fifth most blocks in school history. The Lions have four underclassmen vying for a spot in the middle including three sophomores and one freshman.
 
Following the Ferris State Tournament, the Lions will travel to Valdosta State for the VSU Fall Tournament Sept. 10-11 before heading straight into Sunshine State Conference play. The Lions will open up SSC play Friday, Sept. 17 by hosting Florida Southern for a 7 p.m. match, marking the first home match of the season.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo volleyball program, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.