AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas volleyball team, loaded with returners and coming off a third straight trip to the American Southwest Conference Tournament semifinals, open their season on the road in a doubleheader against Howard Payne on Saturday.
 
The Tornados are fresh off a record-breaking season, setting a new program high for conference wins and tying the record for most wins, finishing 23-7, 12-3 ASC.
 
Head Coach Nicole McCoy-Dalby, who celebrated her 100th career victory with a win in the 2019 ASC tournament quarterfinals, is entering her seventh year at the helm for the Tornados, leading CTX to a combined 61-30, 33-13 ASC record in the last three seasons.
 
McCoy-Dalby knows this past year has been tough on the program, but believes her team has shown resilience throughout all of it.

"The best words that comes to mind with this team is their willingness to adapt," said McCoy-Dalby. "They have had so much adversity thrown at them the past 15 months and it takes grit to come to practice every day to just practice. It has been 15 months since they've had the opportunity to compete against someone besides each other."

In the ASC preseason poll, CTX received 104 points, including one first-place vote and were tabbed to finish second in the West Division.
 
The Tornados, despite losing 2019 ASC West honorees Tristan Massey and Sam Mendez to graduation, return with a wealth of experienced veterans led by Sarah Ghormley and Georgia Quiroz, who were highlighted on the ASC Players to Watch list.
 
Ghormley, a sophomore out of Bastrop, Texas, turned in an impressive first year last season and earned a spot on the ASC West First Team.
 
The outside hitter recorded 217 kills, good for second-best on the team, as well as 276 digs, 24 service aces and 17 assists. She had 11 different games with double-digit kills and tallied eight double-doubles on the year.
 
Quiroz, one of three seniors on the squad, is coming off a second straight ASC West Second Team selection.
 
The Georgetown, Texas native finished her junior year with a team-high 526 assists to go along with 269 digs, 42 service aces and 21 kills. The setter averaged 5.48 assists per set, racking up 20-plus assists in eight different matches.
 
In addition to Quiroz, Marjani Myles and Rylee Davis round out a senior class brimming with experience.
 
Myles, a three-time ASC West honoree, finished last season with 187 kills, a team-high 93 blocks, 63 digs, and 11 service aces, recording three or more blocks in 17 matches.
 
Davis has been a mainstay as the Tornados' libero, and last season she became the ninth player in program history to record 1,000 career digs.
 
Concordia Texas will play a conference-only schedule consisting exclusively of doubleheaders due to a COVID-delayed start to the season.
 
Coach McCoy-Dalby knows it is not what the team expected after the conclusion of last season but sees the silver lining it has created for her team's culture due to the pandemic.
 
"COVID-19 has really had the biggest impact on our consistency and frequency we are able to practice," McCoy-Dalby said.  "We have had to get creative to keep the team together during this crazy time.  We have scheduled virtual workouts, virtual team meetings, virtual study hall—anything to stay together even when we are quarantined.  We have put so many stipulations trying to keep them healthy, but our biggest accomplishment is how close the team has gotten through all of the adversity.  They truly practice their hardest every day because they know it might be the last practice for several days." 
 
The Tornados will begin their season on the road, playing two doubleheaders away from Concordia Fieldhouse before returning for their home opener against Mary Hardin-Baylor on March 9.
 
The Tornados will conclude the regular season on April 1 in Abilene, Texas with two matches against McMurry.
 
Concordia Texas will kick off the new season in Brownwood, Texas facing off against Howard Payne in a doubleheader on Saturday, the first game set for 3:30 p.m. and the second for 5:30 p.m.

In pursuit of a conference championship, Coach McCoy-Dalby knows it will not be an easy, but her team must take it one step at a time in this unusual season.

"The expectation is to take it one match at a time until we reach our ultimate goal," said McCoy-Dalby.