SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 24 Saint Leo volleyball team avoided a Shark attack from the visiting Nova Southeastern University Sharks in five sets at home Friday evening. The Lions defeated the Sharks 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13) to improve to 17-5 overall and 11-3 in the SSC. 

Saint Leo, who heads into Saturday on a five-match win streak, was led by freshman Ashley Quero who landed 21 kills on the night on a .244 hitting percentage.
 
Victoria Omoregie was second on the team with 12 kills, just ahead of Nina Vattovaz and Annabella Arcari who each tallied nine kills. Vattovaz was one kill shy of a double-double where she scooped up 11 digs on the defensive front.
 
Jenya Kruglova led the team in digs with match-high 28 where Reggie Van Devender found 16. Anna Garrett dished out 55 assists on 142 attempts where the sophomore landed four kills in the match.
 
With the five-set victory, the Lions move to 3-3 in five-setters this season. Saint Leo dropped their first three five-setters before defeating West Alabama in five, Oct. 14, then-no. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic in five, Oct. 27, and Friday against the Sharks.
 
Nova Southeastern (5-16, 3-11 SSC) was led by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer (DTP) who finished the night with a .292 clip with 26 kills. Nicole Rivera tallied 12 kills on the night on a .360 clip to pace both teams in hitting percentage. DTP recorded a double-double on the night, adding 15 digs to her kills tally.

The Sharks saw three players in double-digits led by Megan Burns with 20. Burns capped off her double-double with 10 assists, behind Samantha Blasko's 36.

Saint Leo 25-23 | Nova Southeastern came off the bus firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead before the Lions called a timeout. Saint Leo rallied back to score 12 points to the Sharks seven to tie it at 14-14, on back-to-back service aces by Reggie Van Devender. The Lions would claim a one-point lead and play from ahead before a two-point advantage at 22-20 forced the Sharks to call time. A quick 3-1 run by NSU forced the Lions to call another timeout, 23-23 before Annabella Arcari slammed it down to put the Lions ahead 24-23. An attack error on the Sharks would end the first set in the Lions' favor.
 
Nova Southeastern 25-18 | The Sharks started the second set off again in front before the Lions battled back to take a 4-3 lead. Both teams would play neck-to-neck until the Sharks found themselves on a 5-1 run, resulting in a Saint Leo timeout, 15-11. With momentum on their side, Nova Southeastern continued to thrive to claim a 20-13 lead and before another Green and Gold timeout. Both Saint Leo and Nova Southeastern would earn five points each, with the margin too far for the Lions to overcome, dropping the second set by seven.  
 
Nova Southeastern 25-22 | Saint Leo came out of the break and went out to a 3-1 lead before the Sharks closed that gap, tying things up at 5-5. Four attack errors and an ace allowed for the Sharks to move out to a 10-5 lead before the Lions saw enough, and called time. Twenty-one points of even play saw the Sharks cling to a 21-15 lead before the Lions called their last timeout. Saint Leo would close the gap to 23-20 on back-to-back Shark attack errors forcing NSU to call time themselves. Nova Southeastern would finish off the Lions for a 2-1 advantage in the match with a kill.
 
Saint Leo 25-22 | The fourth set would see six early ties in the set before the Sharks could open it up to a 12-7 lead. The Lions would continue to fight and gain momentum with their backs against the wall and tie the set up at 19-19, on three straight kills from Annabella Arcari, Dallas Jasper, and Anna Garrett. Three NSU errors would allow for the Lions to claim a 23-20 lead and eventually go on to win the fourth set by three as Victoria Omoregie finished off the Sharks with a kill.
 
Saint Leo 15-13 | Nova Southeastern looked as if they had the momentum in the decisive set starting off on a 3-0 run before the Lions' Ashley Quero found the back of the court for the first point, 3-1 NSU. After both teams were tied 5-5, Nova Southeastern would go ahead by two, 7-5. Nina Vattovaz and Ashley Quero would land two straight kills for the Lions to tie things at 7-7. Quero would tally another kill to give the Lions the advantage at the switch before Anna Garrett and an attack error pushed the gap to 10-7. Quero would tally three more kills over the next eight points, giving the Lions a 14-11 lead. All of the oxygen was sucked out of the gymnasium when the Sharks closed to within one, 14-13, on back-to-back attack errors by the Lions. A quick set from Garrett to Dallas Jasper would be the final play of the match as Jasper landed the shot to give the Lions the come from behind win.
 
 
The Lions remain at home as they welcome in the Barry University Buccaneers for a 4 p.m. match in the Marion Bowman Activities Center on Nov. 4.  
 
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