SAINT LEO, Fla. – Senior Lauren Campbell's monster outing led the Saint Leo University volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over Eckerd College on its Halloween matchup. The Lions improve to 18-8 on the season with a 7-4 showing in Sunshine State Conference matchups while the visiting Tritons fall to 12-13 with a 3-9 conference mark.
Outside hitter Campbell concocted 17 kills in the rout to lead the offensive charge. Middle tandem Lauren Sheeley and Jillian Stolzenburg swatted five kills each, with freshman Sheeley blocking three attacks on the evening.
Setter Rachel Olliff tuned the Saint Leo offense with 19 assists and five aces. The defense was led by senior Yaidimar Santiago, who notched 22 digs in the sweep. Senior Campbell spun a double-double effort with 10 digs to compliment her 17 kills. The defensive duo tricked the Triton offense to a meager .038 team attack percentage
Eckerd turned to Tjasa Kotnik for offense as the junior mustered 10 kills, but the Triton offense was unable to rally behind the outside hitter. Libero Kaitlyn Sibson picked up 16 digs, but her efforts were not able to stymie the Lion attack.
The Green and Gold took the premier set by a 25-16 tally. Campbell began her barrage with four kills while Olliff began the stanza with three service aces. Santiago stifled the Eckerd offensive threat with seven digs to begin play.
Campbell continued to build momentum into the second set, as the senior unloaded a five-kill salvo to continue her torrid attack. Senior Olliff served up another two aces as the Lions rolled to a 25-19 second set win.
The Saint Leo squad closed out the match with a close 25-22 final stanza. Senior Campbell dismantled the Tritons with an eight-kill showing for the third set while Hope Lemon hit 4-for-8 to conclude play. Libero Santiago anchored the defense with 10 digs to stop Eckerd and complete the sweep.
Saint Leo will continue conference play as it faces the top-ranked University of Tampa, Saturday at 4 p.m. Live stats will be available through www.saintleolions.com.
For more information on the Saint Leo volleyball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Like' the Lions on Facebook and 'Follow' Saint Leo Athletics on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
