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Lions aim for top three

Climbing the Sunshine State Conference standings and getting national attention are the next steps for coach Sam Cibrone.

By RICHARD BURTON
Published September 13, 2005

DADE CITY - Saint Leo volleyball coach Sam Cibrone has set the bar high for his program.

The second-year coach took over a program that was last in the Sunshine State Conference in 2003 and helped it finish fourth in the SSC at 8-8 (and 15-19 overall) in 2004.

This season, Cibrone is preparing his team to aim for the top three in the SSC by playing a challenging non-conference schedule, which included a trip to Chicago and the Lewis Invitational Tournament over Labor Day weekend.

"When you're in such a tough conference, wins and losses aren't as critical in the early going," said Cibrone, whose team is 2-6. "I prefer to play tough teams in the early going to get ready for the conference season."

Saint Leo went 0-4 in the tournament, but improved overall.

"There were some real tough teams," Cibrone said.

The Lions face Tampa, Florida Southern and Barry, all ranked in the top 15 in Division II, in conference play.

Cibrone wants Saint Leo in the SSC's top three, which would help make it a top-15 team.

"I think we can reach our goals if we keep getting better each game," Cibrone said.

So far, the Lions have been propelled by strong outside hitting; that area was a weakness last season.

But Saint Leo must improve its blocking as it heads into its conference opener Friday at home against Florida Tech.

The Lions, who downed Rollins College in their conference finale last season, look to continue the roll on which they finished last season.

"Rollins beat us earlier in the year at their place in five games and it was a chance for us to prove how much we had improved," Cibrone said. "We played our best overall match of the year."

Freshman setter Jessica Lynn, who plays on Cibrone's club team, has made an impact.

"She knows the system and knows what we expect as far as tempo," Cibrone said. "We've got some young players playing quite a bit and we've already made some big strides and I am really looking forward to see what happens the rest of the way."

Returnee Shanna King was the only freshman to start at middle blocker last season in the SSC. King averaged 1.96 kills in 117 games last year, a .253 attack percentage and 0.60 blocks.

Kristin Mondientz, Audrey Starkebaum, Liz Moore, Erin Oberlin and Nikki Prack of Hudson have also been starting.

Mondientz, a senior, has fit in quite well after transferring from UCF. Starkebaum has earned a starting role as a freshman.

Oberlin, a junior, played in 105 games last season and averaged 2.90 kills and one dig.

Prack, whom Cibrone calls "the best defensive player on the team," led the team in 2004 with 2.82 digs.

"She has great ball control and is a leader on the court," Cibrone said.

Moore played 64 games last year and averaged one kill and 0.53 blocks.

[Last modified September 13, 2005, 01:46:17]