SAINT LEO, Fla. -- It's no coincidence that the Lions have won the past nine sets, and three consecutive matches. The Saint Leo women's volleyball team has found its groove in the Marion Bowman center and it was evident Friday night. Nova Southeastern entered the match with the second-best conference record, and the Lions rolled sailed past the Sharks in a 3-0 sweep.
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo swept Nova Southeastern 3-0, (25-17, 25-18, 25-13).
Location: Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 9-5, 4-2 SSC | NSU 11-5, 4-2
How It Happened
- The high-powered Saint Leo offense dominated the match thanks to a seasson high .384 attack percentage. In the opening frame, the Lions hit .300 while the Sharks finished with a team percentage of .138. SLU's offensive efficiency only improved as the match went on as they hit .447 in the second set and .389 in the third.
- Sophomore Britt Sederholm led the Lions with a match high 10 kills and a .333 attack percentage. Fellow pinhitters Anna Siruckova and Hope Lemon each added eight kills. Middles Katie Adamson and Jillian Stolzenburg combined for 12 kills, on 18 attempts and the pair were limited to just two errors. Adamson went 6-1-10 for a .500 attack percentage while Stolzenburg went 6-1-8 for a season best .625 hitting percentage.
- Ashlee Hodgskin dished out 30 assists and Jamee Townsend anchored the Lions defense with eight digs. Hodgskin added six digs, while Sederholm and Hannah Pietz each added four.
- Set 1 | In the first frame, NSU took an early 2-1 lead, but Saint Leo went on a 15-6 scoring run to take an eight-point lead. The Lions then took advantage of several Shark ball miscues to take the set 25-17.
- Set 2 | The Lions' offense caught fire and dominated the second set with 20 kills on 38 attempts. Saint Leo took a 2-0 advantage after winning the set by a similar score of 25-18.
- Set 3 | Saint Leo's served five aces in the final frame, two of Lemon's four aces sealed the Lions win. The Green and Gold held Nova Southeastern to a measly 36 side-out percentage, and capitalized on five Nova attack errors, four service errors and one ball-handling error.
- The Lions held all Nova attackers to five or fewer kills and a team .137 attack percentage.
From the Coach
"The second set we started focusing on taking care of the easy balls, when they gave us a free ball or down ball, so we could get good one-on-one opportunities. Our serve receive was on point all night and I think that really helped us get a lot of first ball kills, which slows them down."
"I'm so excited for tomorrow, with our alumni being here, but I'm not underestimating Lynn at all. They are tough and I think we're going to have to play like we did today to win."
"Our momentum is good. Serving and serve receive have been the keys for us. I know we missed five serves in the second set, but I told the girls to keep serving aggressive because we're getting more aces and Nova errors than we are missing serves. I think as long as we control the first contact, we should be pretty good."
Beyond the Box score
- 13 different Lions saw action in Friday's match. Madison Adkins and Dallas Jasper made their first collegiate appearances in the Bowman.
- Sederholm recorded her second-consecutive double-digit kill performance, and her fifth of the season. The Utah native has led the Lions in kills in four different matches this season.
- Lemon went 8-1-20 for a .350 hitting percentage, her most efficient match of the season.
For the Sharks
- Caitlin Donahue, Dana Holger and Denvyr Tyler-Palmer led the Sharks with five kills each.
- Katie Pyles collected 21 assists and Kaelyn Brock led Nova with nine digs.
- Friday night's match was the first time this season the Sharks were held to five or fewer kills per individual in a single match.
Up next
- Saturday, the Lions will host Lynn University at 2 p.m., followed by an alumni match. The alumni match is a part of the Saint Leo Family Fall Festival. For more information on all events throughout the festival, please click here.
