SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo University Vice President and Director of Athletics, Francis X. Reidy announced today, Tuesday, Jan. 8, the hiring of Jason Skoch as the 14th head coach in the volleyball program's 38-year history. Skoch joins the Lions after 10 years at the helm of the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs program.

"We are ecstatic that Jason Skoch is going to lead our volleyball program," University Vice President and Director of Athletics Francis X. Reidy said. "It is not very often you can hire such an elite level coach to take over what is already a successful program."

"I would like thank Mr. Reidy and the search committee for the opportunity to become the head coach of the Lions," Jason Skoch mentioned. "The tight-knit community and size of the campus became more attractive and I am excited to get on board and hit the ground running to lead the Green and Gold into the future."

"I would like to commend and thank Erik Peterson and Danielle Priest for the great job they did this fall in their interim roles. They extended the NCAA regional streak under challenging circumstances to seven straight seasons," Reidy stated.

Along with the hiring of Jason Skoch to lead the volleyball program for the Green and Gold, Erik Peterson will remain on staff as assistant coach for beach volleyball after stepping in as interim head coach for indoor this past fall, leading the Lions to their seventh-straight NCAA appearance with a 17-15 record, with a 12-8 mark in the Sunshine State Conference. Coach Peterson led Saint Leo to notable wins over Palm Beach Atlantic, 3-1 (no. 9) and 3-0 (no. 16), Florida Southern, 3-2 (no. 21), and West Florida, 3-1 (no. 12).

In his 14 years as head coach, Skoch, a five-time conference coach of the year, has put together a .790-winning percentage with a record of 413-110, including a 276-88 mark in 10-years with the Lady Buffs. He has guided his programs to nine 30-plus win seasons while earning 13 conference titles, between Truman and West Texas A&M, and 11 NCAA postseason appearances with five NCAA Elite Eight appearances. Skoch picked up his 400th coaching win on Sept. 8, 2018 against MSU Texas, in sweeping fashion. He has guided 68 all-conference players and 34 all-Americans at Truman State and West Texas A&M.

Reidy continued, "Jason checked every box in the profile we established prior to commencing our search – academic success, relentless recruiter, conference success, NCAA post-season teams, and Regional Championships. We are excited to welcome Jason and his wife, Karen, along with their four children, Jay, Kade, Kyle and Emmie to Saint Leo and look forward to a great 2019 season."

A former club volleyball player at Penn State University, University of Memphis and Oklahoma State University, Skoch earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State in 1998, with a major in statistics and a minor in mathematics. The Yukon, Okla. native, Skoch went on to earn his Master of Science in statistics from Penn State in 2001.

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