Hernando Reporter

Saint Leo University Athletics issued the following announcement on Nov. 2.

The Saint Leo volleyball team returned to the friendly confines of the Marion Bowman Activities Center Tuesday night for the first time since Oct. 16 and made the most of its home court advantage sweeping the visiting Tritons of Eckerd College 3-0. The victory avenged a 3-0 loss to Eckerd in St. Petersburg earlier this season. The Lions used a well-balanced attack with five attackers finishing with five or more kills and setter Anna Garrett adding four kills to the equation.

The victory moves the Lions' record to 10-15 on the season while they improve to 4-10 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Tritons fell to 14-11 overall and 5-9 in league action.

Senior Brooke Turner led the offensive attack for the Lions as she produced a match-high 12 kills to go along with three blocks and seven digs. The three blocks and seven digs were both good for second on the team. Sophomore Jeanette Henderson continued her strong play as of late with nine kills on just 19 swings while digging up six balls. Henderson finished with a .368 hitting percentage from the outside.

Junior Madi Certain and sophomore Margaret Schirm each added seven kills to the mix. Certain chipped in three blocks while Schirm added three digs. Schirm finished with a match-high .500 hitting percentage as she picked up her seven kills on just 12 swings with one error. Sophomore Madelyn Eden added five kills and a team-best four blocks in the middle.

Garrett had the offense rolling as she distributed the ball well and picked up 34 assists and six digs to go along with her four kills. Senior libero Payton Bellano paced the backline with 19 digs in just three sets. Junior Skylar Singleton had it going from the service line as she put down four service aces, one more than the entire Tritons' lineup.

The Lions jumped out to an early lead and took set one 25-19 before winning sets two and three by the score of 25-20. The third set looked to be going the Tritons way early but a 5-0 run put the Lions back in the set at 8-8. The set would remain close most of the rest of the way with both teams holding slight leads. With the Tritons trailing 20-18, the Lions went on a 5-2 run to close out the match which ended on a Turner service ace.

The Lions out-hit the Tritons .244 to .181 while both teams finished with seven blocks. The Lions picked up six service aces along with four service errors while the Tritons had just three aces and six service errors.

The Lions will return to action this Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. as the Florida Tech Panthers visit the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Lions fell 3-1 in Melbourne earlier this season in the first match-up between the two teams in 2021.

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.

Original source can be found here.