WINTER PARK, Fla. – In a Friday night Sunshine State Conference matchup, the Saint Leo Lions fell to the Rollins College Tars by a 3-2 score (27-25, 25-16, 18-25, 23-25, 11-15). The loss dropped the Lions' record to 19-8 overall.
When the teams met previously in the year on October 5, the Lions forced a three-set win over the visiting Tars, but the contest in Winter Park went much differently.
With Saint Leo taking two early set wins and forcing a 2-0 lead, the Tars bounced back in the third and fourth sets to tie the match at 2-2.
In the fifth and final set, the Rollins Tars capitalized on their momentum and drove home the match, taking a 3-2 win to improve to 20-6 on the year.
Though the Lions squad hit for only .207 on the night, junior Tawni Warren had an impressive showing, with 21 kills and 16 digs. Her offensive effort went unrivaled by all other players.
Junior Lauren Campbell and senior Jordan Sisson also led the Lions' offense, as they notched 17 and 12 kills, respectively. In addition, junior Alexa Griffith-Hardy (10 kills) and senior Meghan Donovan (9 kills) contributed to the squad's 69 total kills.
Defensively, junior libero Yaidimar Santiago led both sides of the court in digs, with 30. Campbell followed suit with 18. The Saint Leo defense held the Tars to just a .201 hitting percentage.
The Lions' setter, Jaclyn Mailoto, who ranks 7th in the nation for assists per set, notched a grand total of 63 assists on the evening, just one shy of her career record.
Saint Leo will look to bounce back on Saturday, November 9 when they travel to Tampa, Fla. to take on the No. 2 University of Tampa Spartans. The Spartans currently sit atop the Sunshine State Conference standings, as well as the NCAA South Region standings. The match is slated to begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.
For more on the Saint Leo volleyball team, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Like' the Lions on Facebook and 'Follow' Saint Leo Athletics on Twitter and Instagram.
