ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – No. 19 Saint Leo volleyball cracked double digits in wins and maintained its undefeated record in road matches with a 3-1 victory over Sunshine State Conference foe Eckerd College, Tuesday night at the McArthur Center. Set scores for the Lions were 16-25, 25-18, 25-20, and 25-14.
The Lions improved to 10-1 overall with the victory, 5-1 in the Sunshine State Conference. Saint Leo is 9-0 this season when it is away from its home in the Bowman Center.
Ashley Quero paced Saint Leo with 12 kills and a solo block, while Britt Sederholm charted eight kills and four total blocks. Annabella Arcari and Dallas Jesper each logged seven terminations in the victory. Jen Kruglova turned up 16 digs, while Anna Garrett had 36 assists.
A season-high 11.0 total blocks was the boxscore highlight for the Lions, who picked up solo blocks from Quero, Garrett, Sederholm, and Victoria Omoregie, along with six block assists by Arcari.
Saint Leo hit just .178 over four sets – Saint Leo's third-lowest hitting percentage in a match this season – however Eckerd all-but-gift-wrapped the match with 32 attack errors and 12 service errors. The Tritons hit an anemic .090 versus the Lions, despite recording 46 kills to Saint Leo's 43.
Eckerd 25-16 | A five-point Eckerd run allowed the Tritons to take a 7-3 lead early in set one, and hold at least a three-point lead for the rest of the set. Saint Leo got to within five at 15-10 following a kill by Britt Sederholm, but Eckerd responded with back-to-back terminations by Payton Meader and Paula Hoffman to regain the momentum. The Lions fought off set point twice before the Tritons closed out the set on a Hoffman kill.
Saint Leo 25-18 | Eight straight Saint Leo points off the serve of Jen Kruglova paced the Lions to a 14-6 advantage in set two, and the Lions ran away from the Tritons from there. Eckerd briefly managed to cut the Saint Leo lead to four at 17-13, but a double block by Sederholm and Annabella Arcari halted the three-point Triton run. An Arielle Erillo service error got the Lions to set point, and Victoria Omoregie closed out the win with a kill off a set from Anna Garrett. Ashley Quero charted three kills for the Lions in the set.
Saint Leo 25-20 | Saint Leo again used a lengthy run early in the set to take the lead, this time erasing an early deficit. Trailing 4-6, the Lions rattled off six straight points culminating in a 10-6 Saint Leo lead off a double block by Sederholm and Arcari. Eckerd would eventually cut the margin to two points at 11-9, but back-to-back kills by Sederholm followed by a Garrett-Arcari block extended the Saint Leo lead to 14-9. Later in the set, four straight Lion points, including kills by Omoregie and Dallas Jasper, gave Saint Leo a seven-point advantage at 19-12. Eckerd again whittled away at the Saint Leo advantage to trim the Saint Leo lead to 22-18, but four straight side out points got the Lions to set point. An attack error by the Tritons' Abbie O'Ferrell allowed Saint Leo to clinch the set and take a 2-1 lead.
Saint Leo 25-20 | Saint Leo stormed out to an 8-1 lead to open set four, before Eckerd managed to slow down the Lions' run with three straight points; the Tritons finally cut the Lions' lead to 8-4 on a double block by Madison Whiting and Stephanie Karlovics. However Saint Leo got those three points right back – two of them off a kill then service ace by Nina Vattovaz – to regain a seven-point advantage. The Lions were never seriously threatened the rest of the way, and finally closed out the set and the match with a Sederholm kill.
Saint Leo will return home for its next two matches, starting with an SSC clash with Lynn University on Friday, Oct. 6, at 7:00 p.m. at the Bowman Center.
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