LAKELAND, Fla. – After finding themselves down 2-0 in the third set, No. 23 Saint Leo battled No. 22 Florida Southern to a 38-36 third set score, ultimately falling in three sets to the Moccasins inside the George W. Jenkins Field House Tuesday.
 
The Lions fall to 20-5 and 14-4 in the Sunshine State Conference as the Moccasins improve to 23-6, 17-1 SSC and maintain their lead in the conference standings.
 
Freshman Ashley Quero led the Lions offensively with 16 kills on 27 attempts for a .481 hitting percentage. Quero added one assist to her stat line for the night.
 
Britt Sederholm and Annabella Arcari both stood just outside the double-digit kill marker with nine each as Anna Garrett tallied 37 assists on the night. Jenya Kruglova scooped up a team-high 18 digs on the night as Sederholm tacked on 12 for the night.
 
After hitting negative in the first set, Saint Leo hit .206 in the second and .237 to move their team total to .153 for the evening. The 38-36 third set score is the highest set score the Lions played have played this season, surpassing the Lions' 33-31 third set win over Palm Beach Atlantic on Oct. 27.
 
Florida Southern 25-16 | Saint Leo freshman Ashley Quero got the Lions started first before the Moccasins came back and captured the lead, 3-2. From there, both teams would play even until the Mocs took a 6-4 lead and controlled the rest of the opening set. Annabella Arcari recorded a kill to get the Lions back within seven points, 23-16, before Florida Southern took the last two points on a kill and an attack error from Saint Leo.
 
Florida Southern 25-18 | Florida Southern came out in the second set and took an early 3-0 lead before Annabella Arcari found the open floor for the Lions' first point, 3-1. Back-to-back kills from Ashley Quero allowed for the Lions to cut it to 4-3 before Dallas Jasper jumped from the middle and tied things up, 4-4. Both teams would take turns leading the set before the Mocs claimed an 11-10 lead. Florida Southern maintained their lead and eventually took the set by seven points.
 
Florida Southern 38-36 | After the short intermission, both Saint Leo and Florida Southern would play even through the first 24 points, exchanging points to a 12-12 tie. With four straight kills, the Mocs would run out to a 16-12 lead before the Lions roared back and tied things at 16-16 with three Florida Southern attack errors and an Annabella Arcari kill. Back-to-back Ashley Quero kills led the Lions to a 20-18 lead forcing the Mocs to call time. Out of the timeout, Florida Southern erased the deficit with two straight points, 20-20, forcing Saint Leo to call time. Out of the timeout, both teams would exchange points before Victoria Omoregie put one away and gave the Lions a 22-21 lead. On the ensuing play, Britt Sederholm and Annabella Arcari blocked the next attack to make it 23-21 Saint Leo. A service error and attack error gave the Mocs the tie, 23-23, before Sederholm and Arcari blocked the Mocs once again, 24-23 Saint Leo. The Mocs would rally back to claim a late 26-25 lead as the Lions called their last timeout. Both teams would exchange points once again up to 36-36, before an Anna Tovo kill and a service ace ended the match at 38-36. On the final play, senior Britt Sederholm dove over the bench to attempt to save the ball; despite her effort, the Lions dropped the set to the Mocs.
 
The Saint Leo volleyball team returns home to close out the regular season with Florida Tech on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. before the Lions honor their four seniors on Nov. 18 prior to the start of the 4 p.m. game against Embry-Riddle.
 
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