SAINT LEO, Fla. – No. 23 Saint Leo honored its four seniors – Paloma Da Silva, Maddy Powell, Britt Sederholm, and Jenya Kruglova - prior to the start of the game with Embry-Riddle, where the seniors helped the Lions close out the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of the Eagles (25-18, 25-14, 25-17) inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
 
The Lions finished the regular season with a 22-6 record and a 16-4 mark in the Sunshine State Conference. Britt Sederholm finished off her performance on the Bowman Center court with 14 kills, pushing her career number to 870. Sederholm landed the 14 kills on a .464 hitting percentage with just one error in 28 attempts.
 
Maddy Powell dished out 33 assists in the win where she added seven digs to her stat line. Jenya Kruglova scooped up a match-high 14 digs and finished with one kill. Paloma Da Silva added five kills and four digs with one assists.
 
As a team, the Lions hit .309 with 43 kills in 97 swings, committing just 13 errors. Saint Leo used a .333 team clip in the first and third sets and a .265 in the second.
 
Embry-Riddle was led by Melanie Canfield and Paola Virella with six kills each as Alyssa Rudd tallied 18 assists. Olivia Roa notched a team-high 10 digs in the loss.
 
SAINT LEO 25-18 | Saint Leo came out of the gates hot and used a 4-0 lead to its advantage as the Eagles recorded three attack errors to push the Lions ahead. After the Lions took a 7-3 lead, Embry-Riddle climbed back into the set tying things at 9-9. Back-to-back kills by Maddy Powell and Britt Sederholm allowed for the Lions to take an 11-9 lead before Saint Leo capped their 5-1 run on another Eagles attack error, forcing ERAU to call time. The Eagles would close to within one, 16-15 before the Lions used another short run, 3-0, to take a 19-15 run forcing yet another timeout. An Ashley Quero kill would seal the first set for the Lions.
 
SAINT LEO 25-14 | The Lions continued to push the pace as they raced out to another 6-1 lead on a Paloma Da Silva kill. Trailing 15-8, Embry-Riddle used its first timeout, in an attempt to stall the Lions momentum. With the scoreboard reading 21-13, Britt Sederholm would serve over an ace and push the lead to nine, forcing the Eagles to call their final timeout. The Lions would score two of their final three points on kills from Powell and Nina Vattovaz.
 
SAINT LEO 25-17 | Embry-Riddle came out of the intermission looking to take a set. The Eagles would take a very quick 2-0 lead before the Lions tied it at 2-2 and eventually rushed out to a 9-5 lead, forcing the Eagles to call timeout after two Anna Garrett aces and a block from Annabella Arcari and Victoria Omoregie. With multiple substitutions, momentum in the gymnasium and a 11-7 run, the Lions took a 20-12 lead into an Embry-Riddle timeout. Both team would go even, 5-for-5 over the remaining points, as the Lions would claim an eight point set victory as Avery Bradshaw slammed down two of the three final kills, leaving it to Annabella Arcari to wrap things up for the Green and Gold.
 
Saint Leo will await the NCAA Division II Volleyball Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. for their postseason fate.
 
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