Lions Ledger: Volleyball Heads to South Regional Crossover, Women's Soccer Wraps Up Home Schedule

Oct 20, 2021

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RECORDS: Saint Leo 2-8-2, 1-4-1 SSC | Tampa 5-5-1, 4-3 SSC | Nova Southeastern 6-4-1, 4-1 SSC
Saint Leo drew a 0-0 at Florida Tech in the program's fourth overtime appearance following a 2-1 overtime win at home against Barry. The Lions look to protect their home field twice this week, first against Tampa during Athletes 4 Athletes night, followed by a meeting with Nova Southeastern during the program's senior night.
Nina Mueller has led the offense all season. The junior midfielder has netted two and tallied a pair of assists. In goal, Maitane Bravo has started in 10 games seeing 155 shots. The Spanish goalkeeper has been incredible putting together a 0.793 save percentage and registering a 1.66 goals allowed average.
Tampa looks to break a two game losing skid after suffering back-to-back 2-1 losses from Nova Southeastern and Lynn.
Laken Gallman and Hannah Kirkpatrick have each scored a pair of goals for the Spartans. In goal, Lovisa Camel and Megan Bromwell have split time, each earning a .800 save percentage.
HISTORY: The Lions and Spartans faced each other a number of times during the unofficial 2020 season but the last time the rivals officially met for a NCAA matchup was on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. The Spartans took a 2-0 win at Pepin Stadium, scoring one in each half.
Nova Southeastern enters the week with a two-game winning streak. The Sharks took care of Tampa in overtime, 2-1, and Eckerd 3-2 at home on Saturday. Nova will host Barry in midweek action before heading to Saint Leo on Saturday.
Dani Correa has found the back of the net five times and assisted in one to pace the Sharks' offense. She is followed closely by Louise Matsgard with four goals and a pair of assists. In goal, the keepers have split time. Together, they have registered a 0.806 save percentage following 107 shots faced. They average 1.19 goals allowed per game.
HISTORY: The teams last met in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 when the Sharks topped the Lions, 2-0. Both goals were tallied in the first 45 minutes of action.

RECORDS: Saint Leo 3-8-2, 1-4-1 SSC | No. 9 Tampa 9-2, 6-1 SSC | Nova Southeastern 7-3-1, 3-3 SSC
Saint Leo enjoyed a midweek bye last week followed by a grueling 1-1 draw with Florida Tech at the Saint Leo Soccer Field Saturday night. Noah Kvifte answered the Panthers' early goal, finishing a pass from Arthur Bergami in the 36th minute.
Bergami, Miguel Fernandez, and Dylan Smith each enter the week with six points. Bergami and Smith have each tallied a pair of goals and assists while Fernandez leads the Lions' scoring with three. In the net, Riccardo Zarri has earned the most recent starts with 30 saves and a 0.667 save percentage. The Italian goalkeeper has faced 131 shots and allowed a mere 1.54 goals allowed per game.
Tampa holds a three-game winning streak after defeating Florida Southern (2-1), No. 13 Nova Southeastern (1-0), and No. 3 Lynn (1-0).
Omar Thali leads the Spartans' offense with nine goals and four assists. Teammates, Juancho Fernandez and Travis Foster have added three goals, respectively, to the mix. Adam Forster has protected the net with a .771 save percentage. Forster averages 0.71 goals per game.
HISTORY: Back in 2019, Tampa defeated Saint Leo 3-1 on Oct. 23 at the Saint Leo Soccer Field.
Nova Southeastern defeated Shaw (2-0) and Eckerd (3-1) last week. The Sharks enter the week with a perfect record on the road. Before hosting Saint Leo, Nova's road record will be tested at Barry on Wednesday.
Matty Cornish leads the Sharks' offense with five goals and three assists. He is supported by Milos Christoforou, who has found the back of the net four times. Alberto Ciroi continues to earn the start in goal. Ciroi has faced 68 shots in which he registered a 0.657 save percentage and a 1.14 goals allowed average.
HISTORY: Last meeting on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, the Sharks escaped the Lions 2-1 at the Saint Leo Soccer Field. All three goals came in the second half. Nova struck first but was answered less than 10 minutes later. Nova edged Saint Leo with the go-ahead goal in the 64 minute.

RECORDS: Saint Leo 7-12, 3-8 SSC | West Alabama 1-14, 1-8 GSC | Lee 5-12, 3-6 GSC | Montevallo 9-12, 3-6 GSC
Saint Leo once again split its weekend matches this past week with a 3-0 win over Palm Beach Atlantic and a 3-1 setback to Lynn. The Lions went 3-0 at the most recent crossover event in 2019 in Hoover, Ala. Saint Leo defeated Montevallo and West Florida 3-0 before downing Mississippi College 3-1 in the final match of the weekend.
Senior Brooke Turner continues to lead the Lions offense with the absence of Ashley Quero. Turner is averaging 2.73 kills per set including 3.9 per set over the last two matches. Senior libero Payton Bellano is averaging 3.84 digs per set this season to lead the squad while sophomore Margaret Schirm has been the steady force at the net with 40 total blocks compared to her next highest teammate who has 23.
Bellano and redshirt senior Anna Garrett are inching up the career charts at Saint Leo. Bellano currently sits just outside the top-six in career digs at Saint Leo with 1,182, She needs 56 more digs to move into sixth all-time and tie Yaidimar Santiago (2013-14). Garrett has moved into second all-time in assists with 3,617. She still sits 1,756 behind record holder Michelle Nogueras' (2006-09) 5,373 career assists.
West Alabama opened the season with 12-straight losses before earning its first win versus Christian Brothers at home on Oct. 8, 3-0. The Tigers have now lost two-straight heading into this weekend's crossover event.
Junior Nathalia Medeiros leads the Tigers with 141 total kills for a 2.66 per set average. Junior libero MacKenzie Wells leads the squad in digs with 219 while averaging 4.13 per set while freshman Amelia Johnigan has been patrolling the net with a team-best 23 total blocks.
HISTORY: The Lions and Tigers have met six times over their respective histories with the Lions owning a 5-1 mark in the series. The most recent meeting took place during the 2017 season which was a 3-2 victory for the Lions at the South Region Crossover.
Lee has dropped seven of its last eight matches with the lone win in the stretch being a 3-1 victory over Valdosta State at home. The Flames have yet to secure a victory away from their home court this season going 0-5 in away matches and 0-4 in neutral site contests.
Senior Emma Flowers leads the squad in kills per set at 3.10 while sophomore Allie Whittinghill leads in total kills at 184 while averaging 2.92 per set. The Flames have three student-athletes who are within 12 digs of one another for the team lead while junior Mackenzie Pearson leads in digs per set at 2.84 followed closely by sophomore Kamryn Halpin who sits at 2.83. Junior Scottie Cook paces the Flames at the net with 37 total blocks for 0.64 per set.
HISTORY: The Lions and Flames have met three times over the years with Lee winning all three matches. The most recent meeting between the two squads took place at the 2018 South Region Crossover where the Flames won a back-and-forth match 3-2 including taking the fifth set 16-14.
Montevallo has won just one of its last seven matches after starting the year 8-6. The Falcons last three matches were a 3-2 loss at Auburn Montgomery, a 3-0 victory at Christian Brothers and a 3-2 loss at Union.
Senior Evelina Teran has been the offensive go-to player for the Falcons as she is averaging a team-best 3.57 kills per set. Sophomore Casey Hendrixson is holding down the libero spot with a team-high 4.60 digs per set while the Falcons front line boasts three blockers who have 43-or-more stops. Junior Morgan Hoffman leads the blocking effort with 0.98 per set for a total of 57.
HISTORY: The Lions and Falcons have met twice since 2012 with both meetings ending with a 3-0 Saint Leo victory. The most recent meeting came at the 2019 South Region Crossover in Hoover, Ala.

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