HOOVER, Ala. – No. 19 Saint Leo volleyball fell to North Alabama 3-2  Friday to open play at the Gulf South Conference / Sunshine State Conference Crossover inside the Finley Center. The Lions won the opening two sets by scores of 25-21 before falling in the third, 25-14, fourth, 26-24, and the fifth 15-9.
 
Saint Leo (11-3) was led by Ashley Quero who tallied 16 kills on the night just ahead of Victoria Omoregie at 12 and Britt Sederholm with 10. Anna Garrett paced the Lions with another double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs.
 
Jenya Kruglova and Reggie Van Devender led the team in digs with 16 apiece. Dallas Jasper registered eight blocks to lead the Green and Gold.
 
North Alabama (17-4) was paced by two double-doubles from Lexie Bradley and Jayden Davila-McClary. Bradley tallied 23 kills and 12 digs where Davila-McClary notched her double-double with 58 assists and 10 digs.
 
UNA saw Ashtyn Kapovich tally 34 digs to lead the team where Jessica Austin added 19 kills on the night.
 
SAINT LEO 25-21 | Both Saint Leo and North Alabama would play tight in the opening set where the Green and Gold held a two point advantage early before UNA erased the two point difference and tied it 16-16. Once the Lions took a 17-16 lead on a service error by North Alabama, Saint Leo never looked back holding a two point lead throughout the rest of the match where Victoria Omoregie's kill pulled the first set to Saint Leo.
 
SAINT LEO 25-21 | North Alabama would start the second set out ahead with early leads before the Lions could tie it multiple times. A kill by Dallas Jasper tied the set 6-6 before an error by North Alabama pushed the Green and Gold ahead 7-6. From there, Saint Leo played from ahead, where North Alabama could only tie the set up until Britt Sederholm registered a kill to make it 13-12 Saint Leo. From that 13-12 mark, the Lions played ahead of UNA, eventually going on for the 25-21 set win to make it 2-0.
 
NORTH ALABAMA 25-14 | UNA controlled the entire third set from the moment the down referee gave the ball for the first serve. North Alabama went out to a 3-0 lead before the Lions scored their first point on a Victoria Omoregie kill. The Lions struggled to get close to the North Alabama Lions before dropping the third set, making it 2-1 in favor of Saint Leo.
 
NORTH ALABAMA 26-24 | Saint Leo came out with the 2-1 lead and took charge early in the set. North Alabama would rally back tying the set at 8-8 before the two teams flipped the lead over the next few points before UNA would gain a 17-15 lead. Saint Leo would tie it late, 24-24, off a Maddy Powell serve. UNA would have trouble putting it down recording an attack error to knot things up. An error from the Lions and a kill would push North Alabama to the 26-24 win forcing the fifth set.
 
NORTH ALABAMA 15-9 | In the fifth and decisive set, the Lions would strike first with an Omorgie kill before both teams would rally to tie things and take their own lead. UNA would go up by two, 8-6, at the switch before ending the set on a 7-3 run to take the five set match.
 
Saint Leo returns to the Finley Center tomorrow to take on Shorter at 3:30 p.m. before closing out the trip with an 8 p.m. matchup with West Alabama.
 
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