PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The unranked Saint Leo University women's volleyball team entered Saturday's contest 2-0, and battled No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State in the second day of the Hampton Inn-vitational hosted by West Florida. Despite a 2-0 Mustang match lead, the Lions handled the third set with ease but fell short in the fourth and final set to lose to the 2014 national runner-up 3-1, (25-20, 25-26, 23-25, 28-26). 

The Basics
Final Score: The Lions fell to Southwest Minnesota State 3-1, (25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 28-26). 
Location: UWF Field House, Pensacola, Fla. 
Records: Saint Leo 2-1 | SMSU 3-0 
Hamption Inn-vitational Page

How It Happened

• No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State out-blocked the Lions 11-5, and carried a team attack percentage of .281. The Mustangs net play created a problem for the Lions defense, as SMSU tallied 58 kills. 
• Set 1 | The Mustangs jumped to an early 5-2 lead, and extended it's margin to 10-3 before a service error stopped SMSU's run. Hannah Pietes subbed in and a service ace sparked a Lions rally. Back-to-back kills by senior Jillian Stolzenburg followed by four consecutive swings from Hope Lemon brought the Lions within four. The Mustangs remained in control and took the first set 25-20. 
• Set 2 | Saint Leo bounced back and took a 3-0 lead, but the Lions became flustered by an officals call which forced an out of rotation by Saint Leo to give SMSU a 4-3 lead. The Lions never recovered, and lost 25-16. 
• Set 3 | A different line-up took the court in the third set. The Lions aggressive attack at the net put SMSU on its heels. Freshman Avery Bradshaw notched six kills in her first full set in the green and gold. The newcomer went 6-for-12 in the set. 
• Set 4 | The Lions rallied in the fourth and after points exchanged, Saint Leo took a 17-14 lead. The Mustangs battled off three Lions set points, and a Saint Leo attack error followed by a SMSU kill ended the match.
• Lemon led Saint Leo with 18 kills, and fellow outside Bradshaw followed with 11 kils. Lemon notched her first double-double of the season, thanks to 14 digs. 
• Stolzenburg averaged a .333 attack percentage, collecting five kills on 12 swings. 
• Ashlee Hodgskin dished out 45 assists, and added eight digs. 
• Libero Jamie Townsend led the Lions with 16 digs. 

From the Coach
"I was happy that we proved that we could bounce back," said head coach Sam Cibrone. "We came out slow in the first two sets but played hard as a team in the third, for a win. I thought our young kids did a nice job coming in and contributing which is exciting at the beginning of the season to know that we have freshmen and a transfer that can come in and play in our system. The outlook for the rest of the season is bright." 

Beyond the Boxscore

• Lemon recorded her first double-double performance (18 kills, 14 digs) of the season, and just her second in her career. Lemon's 18 kills tied her 2014 season high of 18 kills (9/19 vs. Florida Southern). 
• Bradshaw turned in her first double-digit kill performance of her career. The newcomer took 28 swings in two sets and recorded only four errors. 
• Saturday's match marked the third consecutive double-digit dig outing for junior libero Townsend. Townsend's three match dig total of 52 (5.2 digs per set) leads the Hampton Inn-vitational defensive field.  
• Hodgskin's 45 assists is a career high and marks the third-conseutive 30+ assist outing. 

For the Mustangs

• Middle blocker Sarah Parker led the match with a career high 22 kills. Eisha Oden added 13 kills, while Abbey Thissen recorded 12 kills to pace an SMSU offense that finished hitting .281 (58-19-139).
• Whitney Burmeister racked up a match-high 19 digs, while Megan Larson finished with 11 digs and 44 assists. 
• The Mustangs are the 2014 NCAA National Runner-Up. SMSU lost to Sunshine State Conference Member, University of Tampa, 3-0. 

Up Next

• The Lions will close out play at the Hampton Inn-vitational Saturday at 2:00 pm CST. 
• Saint Leo will play no. 21 Arkansas Fort Smith. 
• UAFS is the three-time defending Heartland Conference Champion, and won the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. 
• The Lady Lions made it to the Final Four last season, losing to eventual national champion Tampa in four sets.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo volleyball team, visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.