SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo University volleyball team dropped a Tuesday night contest against the No. 23 ranked Palm Beach Atlantic University, 3-0.
The Lions dip to 7-5 on the season while the visiting Sailfish improve to a pristine 15-0 for their 2014 campaign.
Senior Yaidimar Santiago scrapped to 23 digs on the match, leading both squads defense and limiting the No. 23 team to a .226 hitting clip. Fellow senior Tawni Warren blocked three Sailfish swings as Jillian Stolzenburg and Hope Lemon stopped two apiece.
The offensive efforts were led by outside hitting tandem Lemon and Lauren Campbell. The duo notched 10 kills each while the latter served up a pair of aces. Middle blocker Stolzenburg hit an even .500 clip, grounding an errorless six kills.
The Sailfish turned to a balanced attack to take the premier set 25-17. PBA middles Emma Ballantyne and Sarah Ragland led the charge with three kills each. Campbell swatted a trio of kills to her credit while Santiago posted five digs.
PBA edged Saint Leo 25-23 in the second set. The Lions hitters built momentum as Lemon and Campbell each sent a salvo of four kills. Libero Santiago mirrored the first set with another five digs to limit the Sailfish to a .132 clip.
Palm Beach Atlantic sealed the three set sweep with a 27-25 score. The middle duo of Ballantyne and Ragland combined for a 9-for-16 showing. Lions sophomore Lemon blasted six kills as Stolzenburg grounded four. Santiago amassed 13 digs in the final set, but her defense was not enough to stop the No. 23 team.
Saint Leo will continue Sunshine State Conference play with a two game home stand featuring south Florida's finest, Nova Southeastern University and Barry University. The Friday night contest featuring the NSU sharks is set to start at 7 p.m. while the Saturday matinee against the Barry Buccaneers will begin at 4 p.m. Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be made available through www.saintleolions.com.
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