WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In a battle to the finish, the Saint Leo women's volleyball team fell in heart-breaking fashion in the NCAA South Region Second Round match versus the No. 1 seed Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish. The two teams battled to the brink in a five-set, winner-take-all battle, and the hosts got the best of the Lions using a seven-kill fifth set to earn the right to move on to the South Region final.

The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 2 , Palm Beach Atlantic 3 – 25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 25-15, 15-8
Records: Saint Leo 21-11 | Palm Beach Atlantic 28-4 

Set 1 | Palm Beach Atlantic controlled the first set from the service line, dishing out three aces, forcing the Lions into many out-of-system situations. The Lions put away the ball when the situation was good, getting kills from their middles and right side, but the outside hitters in Hope Lemon and Britt Sederholm were held to just two combined kills. | PBA 25-16 |

Set 2 | Saint Leo went with freshman Avery Bradshaw to open the second set, and she delivered. In her first full rotation of the set, she put down three kills, and added a block. This set the tone for the set. Her back row counterpoint in Sederholm matched her intensity, scooping up digs and dishing out aces.  The No. 1 seed continued to fight, tying the game at 18.  A Lemon kill halted the run, tying it back at 19. However back-to-back service errors haunted the Lions, as PBA took a 23-21 lead. With Bradshaw stepping back to the service line as the Lions utilized all their substitutions, Saint Leo went on a 5-1 run, taking the set. | SLU 26-24 |

Set 3 | Saint Leo held PBA to just 12 kills and a .143 hitting percentage, scooping up 22 digs. On the flip side, the Lions put down 18 kills on a clip of .265. Lemon continued her offensive prowess, putting dow six kills, and only committing one error. Both teams showed their scrappiness as they had multiple long rallies, but the Lions used a 66-percent effectiveness on side out opportunities to take the set. | SLU 25-20 |

Set 4 | The Sailfish jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but the deadly threat from New Zealand in Katie Adamson ended the run with her ninth kill of the game. However, at 12-8 PBA, Adamson went down with an injury, giving the Sailfish a window of opportunity and they took advantage. While Adamson was out, the Sailfish extended their lead from 12-8 to 16-9. They never relinquished their lead, using an error-less hitting performance. | PBA 25-15 |

Set 5 | The Lions were unable to string together multiple points in a row in the final set, going back and forth with the Sailfish to a 4-4 tie, but ultimately the inability to put the ball away kept the Lions behind the hosts. Palm Beach Atlantic put down seven kills and only committed two hitting errors, while the Lions put down two kills, but committed four errors. | PBA 15-8 |

Beyond the Box

• Saint Leo saw four players' recorded double-figure kills, led by Lemon, who finished with 16. Senior Anna Siruckova put down 14 kills on a clip of .333. Jillian Stolzenburg followed up her impressive first round game with an 11 kill, 348 hitting percentage. Freshman Avery Bradshaw came off the bench in the second set and finished the game with 10 kills. Adamson added nine kills, with just one error for a team-high .444 hitting percentage.
• Lemon added 10 digs for one of two double-doubles on the evening. The other double-double came from setter Ashlee Hodgskin, who dished out a match-high 56 assists, while scooping up 16 digs. This was Hodgskin's 55-plus assist game this season.
• Jamee Townsend gathered a match-high 26 digs.
• Hodgskin and Lemon were named to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament team.

Quotes to Note
 

For the Sailfish

• The Sailfish saw Faith Rohn put down 18 kills, while Emma Ballantyne followed with 12. Ally Rohn added 11 kills.
• PBA's 6-2 setters each split the distribution roll, recording 25 assists a piece.
• The Sailfish dished put down 63 kills on a hitting percentage of .297 for the match.

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