SAINT LEO, Fla. -- The Saint Leo University Women's Volleyball Team fell to no. 5 Tampa Tuesday night in the Lions first Sunshine State Conference (SSC) of the season. The defending national champions downed Saint Leo in straight sets 25-20, 25-22, and 25-22. 

The Basics
Final Score: #5 Tampa defeated Saint Leo 3-0, (25-20, 25-22, 27-22).
Location: Marion Bowman Activities Center, Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 5-3, 0-1 SSC  | UT 6-3, 1-0 SSC

How It Happened

• Junior Hope Lemon led the Lions with 10 kills and 13.5 points in her eighth start this season. Fellow outside Britt Sederholm notched nine kills in an errorless effort at the net. Opposite Anna Siruckova had eight kills, while Jillian Stolzenburg and Ashlee Hodgskin added six and four kills respectively.
• Hodgskin dished out 31 assists, and added 10 digs for her first double-double of the season.
• Jamee Townsend sprawled for 14 digs, while defensive specialist Hannah Pietz added three. Each collected one assist.
• Set 1 | Tampa led most of the first set, and edged the Lions 17-13 in kills. The Spartans jumped to a quick 3-1 lead, but Saint Leo bounced back thanks to back-to-back kills from Lemon. The Lions took its only lead of the set at 5-4 but the Spartan offense proved too quick as middle Jessica Wagner put Tampa ahead 7-5. Tampa led by as many as eight, and closed the frame 25-20. 
• Set 2 | The second stanza appeared to follow suit of the first, but a kill by Sederholm sparked a seven-point run for the Lions. Sederholm served six straight points and collected back-to-back aces for a 9-7 Saint Leo lead. With the momentum, and Lemon at the line to serve, Leo was able to hold serve for four points, including back to back aces, which gave the Green and Gold a 17-13 edge. The Spartans would not concede and attack errors allowed Tampa to creep back and tie the frame at 20-20. Tampa took a 22-20 lead, but the Lions tied the set for the sixth time at 22-22. The Spartans rode its offense to the end, as Kills from Marissa Lisenbee and Berkley Whaley followed by a ball handling error ended the second set 25-22. 
• Set 3 | The pair battled for opening points, and the Lions broke the exhange at 9-8 for a lead they would briefly hold. With Kelsey Watts back to serve, the Spartans took a 14-12 lead. Saint Leo responded with a four point run of its own as the lead continued to sway. The Lions hit .250 in the third frame, and collected a match best 16 kills on 44 attempts. The third set was also the team's highest side out percentage at 60% (15 of 25). It wasn't enough as Tampa capitalized on Lions erros and completed its sweep in a 25-22 set win.