SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo volleyball team headed down to Miami Shores, Fla., Friday night for a rematch of the 2019 NCAA South Region Championship contest as the Lions faced off against the Buccaneers of Barry. The Bucs entered the match with just two losses on the season while the Lions were seeking their first Sunshine State Conference victory of the season but it was the Lions who came away with the 3-1 victory.
 
Senior Ashley Quero led the Lions with 16 kills as she was the lone hitter to finish with double-digit kills in the match from either team. She tallied just four errors on 39 attacks for a .308 attack percentage. She also posted a team-best 12 digs as well as four blocks and a service ace for a well-rounded performance.
 
The Lions improved to 5-8 on the year including 1-4 in SSC action while the Buccaneers fell to 7-3 and 3-3 in league play.
 
Junior Madi Certain added a season-high eight kills while junior Elizabeth Sandoval tallied seven. Certain chipped in seven digs while Sandoval had a team-high tying four service aces as well. Freshman Angela Goggin broke out with a career-high seven blocks to help lead the Lions to an 11 to 6.5 lead in blocks in the match.
 
Senior Anna Garrett had an all-around performance from her setter position as she had 26 assists, eight digs, five blocks, three kills and a service ace. Sophomore Jeanette Henderson dug up 11 balls while also sharing the team lead in service aces with four.
 
The Buccaneers opened the match with a strong 25-15 victory in the opening set but the Lions returned the favor in the second set 25-13. The momentum of the second set carried over to the third as Saint Leo took a 2-1 lead with a 25-20 victory. The fourth set looked to be going the Bucs way as they led 20-15 late in the period. An 8-1 run by the Lions which was capped off by a service ace from Henderson turned the tables and put the Lions ahead 23-21 which set the stage for a furious back-and-forth rally to end the match.
 
The Bucs battled back to tie the set at 23 with a kill and a block but the Lions forced their first match-point with a kill from Quero. Barry would fight it off once again to tie the set at 24 but another kill by Quero gave the Lions their second shot at victory at 25-24. Once again the Bucs responded with a kill of their own to tie the set at 25. A BU error gave the Lions their third match point of the night but the cardiac Buccaneers fought it off again with another kill to tie the set at 26. An attack error from Barry followed by a Sandoval kill finally sealed the match in the Lions favor at 28-26.
 
The Lions will now travel to Melbourne, Fla. to face the Panthers of Florida Tech at 4 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 2.  
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo volleyball program, 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.