ADRIAN, Mich. – The Siena Heights University women's volleyball team begins the 2021 season with the two-day tournament called the Crosstown Showdown hosted by Bethel (Ind.) and Indiana-South Bend. The Saints will look to use the experience gained last year to move up the standings in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC).
Siena Heights was chosen sixth in the 2021 WHAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll that was released earlier in August.
LAST SEASON
The SHU women's volleyball team finished the shortened 2020-21 season with a 9-9 overall record and a 7-8 mark in the conference. The Saints earned the fifth seed in the WHAC Tournament for their efforts and faced fourth-seeded Indiana Tech in the First Round. Unfortunately, the season ended with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Warriors.
2021 SCHEDULE
The team competes in a 30-match regular season that begins on Friday, August 27, and ends on Saturday, November 6, 2021. The first five matches are on the road, four of those matches will take place at the Crosstown Showdown this coming weekend. The Saints debut at home in the team's annual SHU Tournament that will happen on Friday and Saturday, September 3-4.
Conference play begins on Wednesday, September 8 when SHU travels to face UNOH inside The Garage at 7:00 p.m. SHU will host 14 home matches during the regular season. All home matches will be streamed on the SHU Saints YouTube page. Links for the video feed, live stats, and tickets for home contests can be found on the team's schedule page.
THE TEAM
The team returns a full starting lineup from the previous year while also adding new talent from the incoming class of 2021. The Saints lost no one to graduation after the 2020-21 year and boast returners that include 1st-Team All-WHAC selection Janel Ruhlman, 2nd-Team All-WHAC and All-Freshman member Aubrey Bates, and lead blockers Kate Ferris and Aline Marinelo. First-Team all-state recipients Lyndsey Benschoter and Olivia LaRocca highlight this year's recruiting class and should help Siena Heights depth at key positions.
RECORD WATCH
Ruhlman is close to cracking the career records list in several categories. She is 193 kills shy of fifth, 143 block assists from seventh, and 87 total blocks from sixth.
Bates is just 558 assists back from cracking the top-10 list in that statistical category.
THE COACHING STAFF
Kim Berrington enters her seventh season as the head coach of the Siena Heights women's volleyball team. She has a record of 103-72 during her tenure at SHU. Her 103 wins are tied for the most recorded wins by a women's volleyball coach at Siena Heights. Coach Berrington is joined by assistant coach Corey Ness (2nd Season) and volunteer assistant coach Milton Resh (2nd Season).
