BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Saint Leo volleyball team played another pair of tough matches Saturday morning securing the first of what will be many victories in the Natalia Koryzna era of the volleyball program. The Lions went toe-to-toe with the 21^st-ranked team in the country, Missouri-St. Louis, falling 3-1 in a close contest before sweeping the Bearcats of McKendree 3-0 in their second match of the day.
 
Senior Ashley Quero once again led the offense on day two compiling 24 kills over the two contests including a team-best 15 in the victory over McKendree. The Lions who struggled with their attack on day one turned in a .216 attack percentage on day two including .273 in the win.
 
Quero led a pair of Lions in double-figures against McKendree with her 15 kills while fellow senior Brooke Turner turned in 11 kills. Quero added three digs, two block assists and a service ace. Turner also had two block assists and three digs.
 
Junior Skylar Singleton dished out 35 assists over the three sets while adding seven digs, two block assists and a service ace. Senior libero Payton Bellano dug up a team-best 10 balls while also scoring two from the service line with a pair of aces. Junior Madi Certain also took care of business at the service line with a team-high three aces to go along with three kills and eight digs.
 
The Lions put down seven aces as a team while the Bearcats managed five. The Lions also won the blocking game with six compared to McKendree's five. Sophomore Margaret Schirm had a hand in all six Saint Leo blocks as she tallied six block assists.
 
Saint Leo won in straight sets 21-21, 25-19 and 25-23.
 
In the opening match of the day, it was freshman Colby Stempkowski taking the lead with a career-best 15 kills on 37 swings. She added eight digs and three blocks. Another Lions playing in her first full season, junior Ally-Reese Williams, added 11 kills, six digs and two block assists to the effort. Quero just missed out on double-figures with nine kills while adding 11 digs and a pair of blocks.   
 
Singleton handed out 39 assists while digging up eight balls and picking up a team-best two service aces. Bellano once again led the team in digs with 16 while also earning an ace. Certain also achieved double-digits in digs with 11 while picking up three blocks.
 
Schirm had another strong contest at the net with a team-high four blocks including one solo. The Lions out-blocked the Tritons 9-3 but it was not enough to overcome a .255 to .175 advantage in attack percentage.
 
UMSL jumped out to a quick lead after a 25-13 first set victory. The Lions rebounded and took the second set 25-18 before the Tritons earned a 25-21 win in the third set. The Green and Gold nearly pulled out the fourth set but the Tritons were able to hold off the Lions rally with a 26-24 victory securing the win for the nationally-ranked program.
 
The Lions will return to Saint Leo where they will begin turning their attention to the VSU Fall Tournament where they will once again face four quality opponents over the two-day event, Sept. 10-11.
 
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.