SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team opens the 2013 season at the High Sierra Invitational Friday and Saturday in Reno, Nev.

“I am looking forward to seeing how they mesh and gel together,” said Head Coach Alynn Wright, who is starting her 25th season at the helm of the Troubadour program. “I want to see the chemistry on the court and the bench. Everyone is going to get some opportunities so I am excited to see what they do in competition.”

The St. Francis roster boasts 10 seniors including two returning starters in middle blocker Lea Felton and setter Ali Koumelis. Felton ranked fifth on the team in kills last season with 116, including a career-high nine kills against Menlo-Atherton in the postseason, and second in blocks with 58. Koumelis led the team in assists with 847 (8.5 assists per set) and ranked fifth on the team with 247 digs.

“I am looking for leadership from my top returning players,” said Wright. “They did see more time than the rest of the juniors. They were the ones who played in the state championship. But I know the newcomers to the starting lineup are just as driven.”

The captains for the team are Koumelis, senior outside hitter Anna Baytosh, and senior S/OH Noa Nightingale.

The Troubadours reached the CIF Division I State Championship match in 2012 and finished with a 38-3 overall record. They enter the season ranked No. 54 in the PrepVolleyball.com Century Club National Rankings.

“Since winning the state championship in 2005, our expectation has been to fill the hole in the gym on the wall with another banner,” said Wright. “We practice dreaming about it day in and day out. We set goals one step at a time and we know we have a tough league that we need to focus on first. We have a very difficult section this year with many teams that are going to be strong and very competitive. We have our work cut out for us.”

The Troubadours will play three matches on Friday and continue play Saturday.

St. Francis plays its Foundation Game Tuesday night at Granite Bay at 7 p.m. The two teams last met in the NorCal Championship game last season.