PINE BLUFF -- The 2013 Lady Golden Lion volleyball season gets underway on Friday in the Sunshine State. UAPB will crack the seal on the season at the Holiday Inn Plus/UCF Invitational. The Lady Golden Lions will play against Alabama State (10 a.m.) and Valparaiso (5:30 p.m.) on Friday, then North Florida (12 p.m.) and UCF (7:30) on Saturday. Live stats will be available for each match via ucfknights.com. The match vs. UCF will also be streamed live through the UCF website.
With a solid core returning from the 2012 squad and a talented group of freshmen and transfers, head coach Kyetta May says that the 2013 season promises to be an exciting time for UAPB volleyball.
"We're making progress with changing the culture of the program," said May, who is entering her second season at UAPB. "I like the mix of newcomers and returners on this year's squad; we will have some key positions as well as more leadership displayed going into this volleyball season."
Leading the group of eight returning players is junior hitter Audrey Sherles. Sherles had 225 kills, averaging 2.34 per game. She also had 30 service aces. Also heading up the returning class are senior Rachel Hornbuckle and juniors Ashlie Jones and Jordan Foyer. Jones had 183 kills (2.20/game) and 26 aces, while Hornbuckle finished the season with 101 kills (1.33/game). Meanwhile, Foyer is the Lady Golden Lions returning setter. She averaged 4.41 assists per match.
"I'm most impressed with the team camaraderie so early on with this year's team. I'm looking forward to our opening tournament at UCF," May commented. "With us playing teams of such a high caliber early in the season, it will put things in perspective for us as well as give us something to measure and work towards."
May knows that their work will be cut out for them with a formidible schedule. "With a highly competitive schedule against several scholarship programs lined up, we will need to work extremely hard to accomplish the goals that we have set for the season. I feel that we have the talent and experience to challenge for a conference championship. We just need to stay focused on one task at a time."
