ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – For the second-straight day the Saint Leo volleyball team earned a split at the Flagler Saints Invitational. The Lions fell to No. 3 Minnesota Duluth in straight-sets Saturday afternoon before knocking off No. 25 Flagler in the nightcap 3-2. Sophomore Ashley Quero provided the boost in match number two as she posted a career-high 23 kills in the victory.
 
Quero picked up her 23 tallies on 51 swings while compiling a .275 hitting percentage in the match. She also tied for the team lead with three service aces and finished second in blocks with five including one solo stop. Junior Victoria Omoregie chipped in 17 kills on just 39 swings for a .308 hitting percentage in the match. Junior transfer Anilise Fitzi was the only other Lion in double-figures with 12 kills from her middle blocker position.

"We train for the fifth set," said interim head coach Erik Peterson. "We knew that playing Flagler on their home court was going to be a huge challenge and we wanted the opportunity to take that test. We talk about "crunch time" when we play. The fifth set is crunch time and this team showed up like nothing I've ever seen before. They were in another galaxy and I was just along for the ride. It was amazing to watch and a lot of fun to be a part of."
 
Freshman libero Payton Bellano joined the 30-dig club for the first time in her young career with 32 digs in the match while senior Reggie Van Devender led the way in assists with 35. Van Devender, who split time at setter with freshman Cassandra Kamien, finished with a double-double after adding her 16 digs. Bellano also achieved her first career double-double with 11 assists to go with her 30-plus dig performance and tied for the team lead in service aces with three. Senior Dallas Jasper led the way defensively with eight blocks in the match including one solo stop.
 
Flagler survived a tight first set 28-26 before Saint Leo rattled off back-to-back victories in sets two (25-20) and three (25-18). The Saints responded in the fourth behind their home crowd with a 25-23 win but the Lions proved to be too much in the fifth set walking away with 15-5 victory.
 
The opening match of the day pitted the Lions against the No. 3 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. UMD closed out the tournament a perfect 4-0 after the 3-0 victory over Saint Leo. Omoregie led the Lions with nine kills in the loss while junior Annabella Arcari added six. Arcari also had a team-best five blocks in the loss while Omoregie and Jasper chipped in four each.
 
The Lions will return to next weekend at another stacked tournament, the Colorado Premier Challenge. The Lions will face Colorado Christian and preseason No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State on Friday, Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., respectively.  
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo volleyball, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.