SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo volleyball team got off to a hot start in its Sunshine State Conference match up with the Barry Buccaneers on Friday night at the Marion Bowman Center. The Lions needed an extra point to take the opening set before ultimately ending the night with a 3-1 loss. The Lions fell to 4-6 and 0-2 in SSC action while the Buccaneers improved to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in SSC play.

Molly Chappell (14) and Oliwia Durka (13) combined for 27 of Saint Leo's 44 kills. Chappell and Tajma Muharemovic had a pair of aces each while Sophia Leon-Tabor added one of her own. Brielle Kallberg and Hailey Jeskewitz totaled four of Saint Leo's six blocks with two each.

Madison Moore led the Lions hitting .313 and close behind her was Chappell with a .294 hitting her percentage.

BARRY 3, SAINT LEO 1
SET 1: Saint Leo 26, Barry 24
Saint Leo opened the match with three consecutive kills by Durka and a kill by Chappell put the home team up 4-1. After trading the next four points Barry used a 3-0 run to tie the set at 5-5. In a highly competitive opening set the middle part of the set saw neither team take more than a two-point lead until it was 20-20. Consecutive 3-0 runs for each team positioned the first set for an exciting finish. Kills by Jeskewitz and Kallberg gave the home tea ma 22-20 advantage, and an attack error made it a 23-20 Lions lead. Saint Leo returned the attack error to the Bucs which ignited a 3-0 run for the visitors to tie the set at 23-23. A kill by Jeskewitz put set point in reach for the Lions but and attack error tied the set up at 24-24 before Saint Leo took the opening set 26-24.

SET 2: Barry 25, Saint Leo 22
Set two began just as the first set but this time the Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead that saw a Durka kill make it an 8-2 Lions lead. However, Barry had different plans as the Buccaneers used an 8-0 run to turn an 8-2 deficit into a 10-8 advantage. Saint Leo used a few kills and a pair of service aces to go on a 7-2 run and lead 15-12. After Barry tied the set a t 18-18, Emma LeTourneau gave the Lions their final lead of the second set at 19-18. Jeskewitz kill tied the set up at 20-20 before Barry closed it out with a trio of kills over the final five points to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 second set victory.

SET 3: Barry 25, Saint Leo 19
Back-to-back kills by Durka and Chappell opened the third set with a 2-0 lead for the home team. Chappell put the Lions back on top with back-to-back kills for a 7-6 advantage. Saint Leo benefited from three-straight attack errors by the visitors to take a 15-14 lead. Barry held the Lions to just three points over the final 12 points of the set to take a 2-1 lead.

SET 4: Barry 25, Saint Leo 14
A kill by Sheila Rodriguez and an ace by Muharemovic opened what turned out to be the final set and a second kill by Rodriguez gave Saint Leo a 3-1 lead. Barry quickly found its rhythm with a 3-0 run to take a 6-4 lead and held the Lions just out of reach while the Green and Gold attempted chip its way back into the set. Madison Moore delivered a kill to make it a 15-14 Barry advantage. At this point the Buccaneers took complete control of the set using a 10-1 run to close out the set and earn the match victory.  

UP NEXT
Saint Leo is back home on Tuesday night for its rescheduled match with the Moccasins of Florida Southern. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.