SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo volleyball team led 2-0 after the opening two sets Tuesday night against Sunshine State Conference leader Tampa, who the Lions had defeated on the road 3-1 earlier this season, but it was the Spartans who came away with the come-from-behind victory. The Spartans fought off one match point in the third set and cruised in the final two sets to take the victory.
 
Saint Leo won the opening two sets 27-25 and 25-19 while posting a team hitting percentage of .361. The Spartans won the third set 27-25 while the Lions continued to show strong offensive numbers at .364 but the final two sets would not be the same as the Lions combined for a .086 hitting percentage. The Spartans would take the final two sets 25-15 and 15-6.
 
The Lions fell to 15-6 overall and 6-4 in SSC play while the Spartans improved to 15-6 and 8-2 in league action.
 
Redshirt junior setter Anna Garrison posted some impressive numbers through the first three sets as she tallied 45 assists in just three periods. She would end the match with 51 assists, 15 digs and six kills, coming up just short of a triple-double.
 
Junior Michelle Cuervo led the team offensively with 16 kills as she tallied a .353 hitting percentage for the match. Seniors Nina Vattovaz and Annabella Arcari each posted 12 kills in the match. Arcari had a .409 hitting percentage while adding a team-best two blocks including one solo stop. Vattovaz added 14 digs for another double-double.
 
Senior Victoria Omoregie who is chasing 1,000 career kills finished with nine kills, four short of 1,000. She also had six digs and a block in the match.
 
The Lions tallied eight service aces in the match led by three from sophomore libero Payton Bellano. Bellano finished with a team-high tying 16 digs while senior defensive specialist Fabiola Rosado added 16 as well.
 
Tampa was led by Katie McKiel who had a match-high 29 kills while three others joined her in double-figures.
 
The turning point in the match came late in the third set. Tampa led 23-21 late in the period when the Lions rallied for three-straight points capped off by a kill from senior Anilise Fitzi. With the match on the line at 24-23, Tampa picked up a key kill from McKiel to tie the set once again. The Spartans would pick up another kill before Garrett posted her biggest block of the match as she stuffed an attack from the Tampa middle after the serve receive found its way over the net. McKiel came through again for the Spartans to take a 26-25 lead and a long hit by the Lions in the next rally ended the set 27-25.
 
Saint Leo will now prepare for a Saturday afternoon match-up with Rollins College as the Tars visit the Marion Bowman Activities Center Saturday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on 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.