The winningest coach Saint Leo Volleyball history, Sam Cibrone began his journey in the Green & Gold when he was named head coach at Saint Leo in May of 2004.  After five seasons, a Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year honor, and the program's first-ever conference title, Saint Leo is 131-77 overall under Coach Cibrone and 51-44 against the very tough Sunshine State Conference.

The memorable 2009 season saw the Lions lay claim to a 30-4 final record and a Sunshine State Conference regular season title, proving to be the most successful season in Saint Leo history.  In addition to sweeping the University of Tampa on the road and qualifying for their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, Saint Leo advanced to the South Region Championship before ending their season with a loss to Tampa. Honored by his peers in the tough SSC as the 2009 Coach of the Year, Cibrone saw numerous individual honors get dished out, including an AVCA National Player of the Week, CoSIDA All-District Team, Daktronics All-Region Team, five All-Conference Team honors and AVCA All-Region awards.  Cibrone capped the cherished season by seeing three players, including record-breaking setter Michelle Nogueras, earn All-America honors. 

After 2009 Cibrone became the winningest volleyball coach at Saint Leo in terms of overall wins (131) and winning percentage (.629)

2008 saw the Lions post a remarkable 29-11 record as they competed across the South Region and made their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  Despite breaking even in conference play (8-8), the season was one of many 'firsts' as the Lions swept the Barry Buccaneers, defeated Florida Southern in their 61st try and won an NCAA Tournament match.  The NCAA Tournament win was only their second victory over Florida Southern and also saw a remarkable comeback in the fifth set as SLU rallied after being down 7-2 to advance to the semifinal round.

Individual accolades for the season went to Kaitlin McKenna, Michelle Nogueras and Danielle Bletso as Nogueras earned a spot on the AVCA All-America Third Team and was a first-team All-South Region member. McKenna was named All-America Honorable Mention and was also in the South Region's First-Team while Bletso was named Freshman of the Year in both the South Region and the Sunshine State Conference.  McKenna and Nogueras were also named to the SSC First Team for 2008.

In 2007, Cibrone guided the Lions to the most successful season up to that point, as they advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and established a new program record for wins in a single season with 24.  Saint Leo was 6-10 in the Sunshine State Conference.

The Lions had a 2007 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in Michelle Nogueras who was also an AVCA All-South Region selection, and a First Team All-Sunshine State Conference choice.  In addition, Cibrone helped freshman Kaitlin McKenna to be named the 2007 AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year and the SSC Freshman of the Year.  McKenna was also Honorable Mention All-Conference and All-Region while earning a spot on the SSC All-Freshman Team.  Chelsea Armer was also a CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection.

Cibrone's 2006 team finished 21-11 overall and 8-8 in the Sunshine State Conference, tying for third-place in the highly-competitive league.  As a result of the success, the Lions earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Several members of the 2006 Saint Leo volleyball team earned individual accolades as new single-season marks were set in a variety of categories.  Freshman Michelle Nogueras was named the AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year, while a trio of players were All-Conference honorees.  In addition, a pair of players were named Academic All-District.

Cibrone led the Lions to a tie for fourth-place in the Sunshine State Conference with an 8-8 league record in his first year as head mentor, as Saint Leo was 15-19 overall. The Lions finished fifth in the league in 2005 at 6-9 and were 12-18 overall.

Coach Cibrone came to Saint Leo from Pasco-Hernando Community College where he was head coach for four years.

The native of Pittsburgh, Pa. posted a 137-43 record (.761 winning percentage) at PHCC and advanced to the Junior College National Tournament four straight years. His teams finished 15th in the nation in 2000, 13th in 2001, 11th in 2002 and 10th in 2003.

The Suncoast Conference named Cibrone Coach of the Year twice, while the NJCAA chose him District E National Coach of -the Year all four years he was at PHCC.

In addition to coaching and being a Study Skills instructor at Pasco-Hernando, Cibrone has been heavily involved with club volleyball. He is executive director of Tampa United Volleyball Academy in Tampa, Fla.

Prior to joining PHCC, Cibrone was head coach from 1996 to 1999 at Sickles High School in Tampa. He directed the program to an overall record of 53-10 (.841 winning percentage) and three consecutive state playoff appearances.

Cibrone graduated from Slippery Rock University (PA) in 1994 with a degree in Education (Social Sciences), and earned his master’s degree in Special Education from Slippery Rock University in 1996.  The Lion coach was a starting outside hitter at Slippery Rock on the men’s team for four years and also started four years at outside hitter at Perry Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh from 1985-89.