Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis women's volleyball team opens its 2019 season at the Youngstown State Invitational from Aug. 30 – 31.
 
The Red Flash kick off the 2019 campaign vs. Youngstown State on the 30^th at 2 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, Aug. 31, vs. Citadel at 10 a.m. and Bucknell at 12:30 p.m.
 
Scouting the Opponents
 
Youngstown State | Live Links: Watch | Live Stats
 
The Penguins will have a relatively new look after going 7-22 overall last season and 1-15 in the Horizon league.
 
Only seven players return from 2018, but two are their leaders in kills from a season ago, Aleah Hughes and Margaux Thompson. Alexia Byrnes is the top candidate to be the setter after splitting time last season.
 
The Penguns will gave to replace their top net presence in Sarah Varcolla who had 70 more blocks than anyone else on the roster.
 
The Citadel | Live Links: Live Stats
 
The Bulldogs went 12-19 in 2018 and 4-12 in the SoCon. Sharlissa De Jesus leads all returners with 405 kills last season (3.89/set) and forms a nice partnership with her setter Megan Fuhr.
 
The Citadel returns six of its seven starters and the team's top four hitters.
 
Sarah Dobrich also returns after leading the team in blocks in 2018.
 
Bucknell | Live Links: Live Stats
 
The Bison come off a season that saw them go 8-19 overall and 3-13 in the Patriot League. Like the Red Flash, Bucknell went through some youth growing pains but returns its top three hitters from last season, all who had over 200 kills. Every player from last year's roster returns for 2019.
 
Saint Francis Notes
 

• Saint Francis had three players finish in the top 10 in the league in kills for the first time in program history. Two are back in sophomores Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) and Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa East) who combined for the second most kills in the conference among all duos.
• Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) earned NEC Second Team All-Conference, tying-for-second among all NEC players in kills. A three-time NEC Rookie of the Week, Tyus had the first 20-20 game in nearly a decade when she posted 21 kills and 25 digs against Central Connecticut. She topped 10 kills in 19 matches this season and had at least 15 kills 11 times. 
• The Red Flash will look for a much faster start to the season than in 2018 when it started 0-10.