AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas volleyball team, who welcome seven new faces to the program this year, but return with All-American Southwest Conference selection Sarah Ghormley, will open their season on Wednesday with a road matchup against Southwestern.

The Tornados, who are coming of their fourth-straight ASC Tournament semifinal appearance and were one set win away from reaching the title match in the COVID-19 shortened season, are back to a standard fall season and revving to return to the court.

Concordia Texas will look to retool and reorganize their rotation after losing senior starters Georgia Quiroz, Rylee Davis and Marjani Myles to graduation but have an arsenal of weapons that includes Ghormley as well as Kylexus Block and Alyssa Legette.

In the conference's preseason poll, the Tornados garnered 143 points after posting a 9-3 record last season and were picked to finish third in the conference.

Reigning ASC champion Mary Hardin-Baylor was voted to repeat after claiming 189 points and 13 of the 20 first-place votes. UT Dallas followed with 184 points and six first-place votes after falling to the Cru in the title match.

Meanwhile, Ghormley and Legette represented the Tornados on the conference's Players to Watch list.

Ghormley enters year three with the program and is coming off a strong sophomore campaign that earned her an All-ASC selection, the first of her career, as well as named to the ASC West First Team for the second year in a row.

The Bastrop, Texas native did it on both sides of the ball, leading the team in kills and digs, as well as kills per set, averaging 3.78 per frame. She finished the season with eight double-doubles in 12 total matches, including a career-high 25-dig, 17-kill performance in a five-set thriller against the Comets in the ASC Tournament semis.

Legette, meanwhile, appeared in six matches for CTX in an injury-plagued season. The Round Rock, Texas native, registered 63 digs on the year with a 3.32 average per set. In the semifinal matchup vs. UTD, Legette had a career performance, recording 21 digs.

Other performers to watch for CTX include Block on the outside and junior Jaya McCarty in the middle.

Block was an ASC West Second Team selection in her first season with the program last spring, making an immediate impact on the court. She racked up 127 kills along with 101 digs in 38 sets played. She had a breakout performance last season against Hardin-Simmons, where she registered a career-high 22 kills along with 13 digs in a five-set win.

McCarty, meanwhile, is one of the team's six returners and will play a pivotal role for the team in the middle. She appeared in all 12 matches last season, posting 47 kills and was second on the team in blocks, recording 21 total blocks in 33 sets.

The Tornados will open the season with five straight road matches, getting their first action on Wednesday will they will travel to Georgetown, Texas for a showdown against Southwestern at 6 p.m.

They will then travel down to San Antonio on Sept. 3-4 for the Trinity Tournament, where they will face the powerhouse Tigers, as well as, Texas Lutheran, Whitworth and Hendrix.

On Sept. 11, CTX will open conference play with a battle against East Texas Baptist in their home opener.

Other key matchups for the Tornados will be on Sept. 18, traveling to Richardson, Texas for a ASC Tournament rematch against UTD.

Meanwhile, CTX will face conference foe UMHB twice this season, traveling to Belton, Texas on Sept. 24, before hosting the Cru on Oct. 29 inside Concordia Fieldhouse. Last season, the teams split their two-game series, which included a Tornados' sweep back on March 9.

Concordia Texas will look to return to the ASC Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The tournament will be held on Nov. 4-6 and hosted by the number one seed in the conference.

The Tornados will begin their journey on Wednesday, taking on the Pirates at 6 p.m. inside the Robertson Center in Georgetown, Texas.

ASC Volleyball Preseason Poll

Rank		Team (1st)	Pts.			2020-21 Record (ASC)
1.		Mary Hardin-Baylor (13)	189			16-2 (14-2)
2.		UT Dallas (6)	184			15-1 (14-0)
3.		Concordia Texas	143			9-3 (8-2)
4.		LeTourneau (1)	134			16-6 (11-5)
5.		McMurry	125			13-5 (12-4)
6.		East Texas Baptist	102			8-10 (7-9)
7.		Hardin-Simmons	82			6-12 (6-10)
8.		Sul Ross State	70			6-10 (6-10)
9.		Belhaven	47			7-11 (3-11)
10.		Howard Payne	24			3-19 (0-18)

ASC Volleyball Players to Watch List

Name	Pos.	Cl.	Team	Hometown
Annika Canaba * ^ M	MB/S	Sr.	Sul Ross State	Alpine, Texas
Emily Carroll	MB	Sr.	Belhaven	Katy, Texas
Tatyana Colon	L	So.	Sul Ross State	El Paso, Texas
Catherine Croft * ^	OH	So.	UT Dallas	Buda, Texas
Kianna Crow * ^ M	OH	Sr.	LeTourneau	Spring, Texas
Courtney Edge ^ N	L	Sr.	LeTourneau	Carthage, Texas
Grace Eidson S	S	Sr.	Belhaven	Gainesville, Ga.
Hannah Frasca * ^ F	OH	So.	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Spring, Texas
Sarah Ghormley * ^	OH	Jr.	Concordia Texas	Bastrop, Texas
Lillie Hill ^ L F	L	So.	East Texas Baptist	Schertz, Texas
Kayla Janikula * ^	MB	Sr.	Mary Hardin-Baylor	Kingwood, Texas
Adile Leal ^ L	L	Jr.	McMurry	Clute, Texas
Alyssa Legette	L	Sr.	Concordia Texas	Round Rock, Texas
Amaya Marshall	MB/RS	Jr.	Howard Payne	McKinney, Texas
Megan Martinez ^	MB	Sr.	McMurry	El Paso, Texas
Allison Owen * ^	MB/RS	Jr.	UT Dallas	Murphy, Texas
Avery Reid	OH	Fr.	East Texas Baptist	Fulshear, Texas
Mya Ross ^	OH	Jr.	Howard Payne	Irving, Texas
Taylor Salone * ^ N	MB	Sr.	Hardin-Simmons	Grand Prairie, Texas
Helena Vazquez	S	Fr.	Hardin-Simmons	Mansfield, Texas

2020-21 All-ASC Selection *
2020-21 All-Division Selection ^{^}
2020-21 Division Most Valuable Player ^M
2020-21 Division Libero of the Year ^L
2020-21 Division Freshman of the Year ^F
2020-21 Division Newcomer of the Year ^N
2020-21 Division Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year ^S