WINTER PARK, Fla. – Junior
Madi Certain of the Saint Leo volleyball team, who entered tonight's match with a career-high mark of nine kills in a match, obliterated her previous career-best with a match-high 23 kills to lead the Lions in a 3-1 victory over the Rollins Tars. Certain posted a .386 hitting percentage with 44 swings and just six errors in the match to lead the Lion attack.
The victory moves the Saint Leo record to 6-9 overall and 2-5 in Sunshine State Conference play while the Tars fell to 3-11 overall and 0-6 in league action.
Certain was flanked by redshirt junior
Elizabeth Sandoval who chipped in eight kills, a pair of service aces and six digs. Freshman
Colby Stempkowski, playing just outside of her hometown Orlando, added seven kills and a team-best two solo blocks. She added a block assist to finish with three total blocks.
Senior
Anna Garrett posted a strong double-double with 33 assists and 17 digs finishing just one dig behind senior libero
Payton Bellano who had 18 in the match. Sophomore
Margaret Schirm patrolled the net for the Lions posting a team-best four blocks including one solo while also chipping in three kills.
The Lions dropped the opening set 25-21 before storming back with 25-22, 25-16 and 25-17 set victories to seal the win.
Saint Leo out-hit the Tars .221 to .137 while both teams posted seven blocks. The Lions kept their serving mistakes to a minimum posting just one serving error compared to six aces while the Tars had one more ace at seven but produced eight service errors.
Riley Spurlin and Lana Gerard led the Tars with 14 kills each in the match.
The Lions will now head to the east coast of Florida to take on the Embry-Riddle Eagles in Daytona Beach Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Eagles, who are 13-2, suffered just their second loss of the season Friday night as Eckerd defeated Embry-Riddle 3-1 on their home court.
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.
