@CanesVB Ready for Hurricane Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team is set to open its 2014 season with this weekend’s Hurricane Invitational.
The Canes will host Florida Gulf Coast, Florida A&M and Seton Hall in a tournament that will feature six matches played over two days.
“Opening day is great,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. “After training and preparing for a few weeks, it’s exciting to start the season.”
The Canes open their season at 7 p.m. on Friday, hosting Seton Hall. Miami returns to action on Saturday for a pair of matches, facing Florida A&M at noon and Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m.
“Playing at home is huge for us, especially with so many new players,” Gandara said. “We don’t have to travel, we get an extra day of training and we get to play in front of our fans. We are excited and ready to compete this weekend. It should be a great tournament.”
Senior captains Savanah Leaf and Emani Sims are expected to lead the Canes in 2014. The gifted duo was among the 19 student-athletes named Preseason All-ACC on Tuesday. Leaf and Sims are two of the seven returners from the 2013 squad that reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
“After going back and looking at things we needed to fix from the Orange & Green Scrimmage, it will be fun competing against new faces and seeing how things unfold,” Sims said.
Along with Leaf and Sims, seniors Blair Fuentez and Alexis Mourning are joined by juniors Caitilin Donahoe and Misty Ma’a as well as sophomore Kelsie Groot are back from the 2013 team and they will provide leadership and experience as Miami looks to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2014.
Kyrena Dudley, Sylvia Hernandez, Michele Marenus, Brooke McDermott, Taylor Scott, Sakile Simmons, Haley Templeton and Kalysta White make up the 2014 Miami volleyball incoming class. The eight newest Canes will don the orange and green for the first time on Friday night.
For all the latest information on Miami Hurricanes volleyball, follow the official Twitter feed, @CanesVB, or “Like Us” on Facebook at facebook.com/UMVolleyball. The program is also on Instagram.
