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3
Winner Saint Leo SL 26-8, 6-6 SSC
2
Rollins RC 17-16, 2-10 SSC
Winner
Saint Leo SL
26-8, 6-6 SSC
3
Final
2
Rollins RC
17-16, 2-10 SSC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Saint Leo SL 20 21 25 25 15 (3)
Rollins RC 25 25 23 19 5 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Rollins Drops Five-Set Thriller to Saint Leo, 3-2

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WINTER PARK, Fla. – After capturing the first two sets, the Rollins volleyball team was unable to seize the victory as visiting Saint Leo rallied to claim the final three sets to secure the 3-2 (20-25, 21-25 25-23, 25-19, 15-5) win, Sunday afternoon at Warden Arena.

The Tars (17-16, 2-10 Sunshine State Conference) exploded in the first set, hitting .394 as a trio of attackers, Nikki Hartman, Caitlin Vyborny and Stephanie Nichols, recorded four kills a piece in the first frame. Despite their best efforts, the Lions' (26-8, 6-6 SSC) recorded a .220 hitting percentage, but Rollins' 15 kills and only two errors, over powered Saint Leo.

Tied at 10 in the first set, Rollins made its move scoring on three unanswered Saint Leo attacking errors. The Tars denied the Lions' attempt cut the deficit, as Rollins sustained a minimum of a three-point lead. After building the lead to six at 20-14 on a Phoebe Corder service ace, Saint Leo scored on back-to-back kills from Kaitlin McKenna to cut the Tars lead to two at 21-19. Rollins allowed only one point in the final five to capture the stanza, 25-20.

After cooling off in the second set, Rollins was limited to a .156 attacking percentage, but its defensive efforts proved to be too much, as Saint Leo hit an abysmal negative .21. The Tars tallied only nine kills in the set, but recorded seven blocks and enjoyed 14 attacking errors by the Lions.

After the intermission, an exciting third set ensued that included 12 ties and four lead changes. After falling behind 5-0, Rollins had to muscle its way back to tie the match at six from a Nichols' kill. The teams exchanged points before Rollins took a three-point lead at 11-8. Saint Leo was force to come back as it rallied off five-straight points to gain a two-point lead. Rollins answered with a mini-run of its own, but eventually the teams found themselves deadlock at 18.

More of the same followed as the teams exchanged points on attacking errors, before tying the match at 23. Saint Leo then relied on middle blocker Danielle Bletso for the final two kills to capture its first set.

After hitting .333 in the fourth set and .533 in the final set, Saint Leo's comeback was inevitable as it committed zero attacking errors in the final stanza to claim match, while Rollins hit a negative .095.

The Tars' Hartman owned a match-best 19 kills with 20 digs, while Nichols also chipped in with a double-double of 12 kills and 15 digs. The Lake Mary, Fla., native, Nichols, now has 1,210 kills during her four-year career, which places her sixth all-time.

After breaking the single-season dig record in Saturday's match against Palm Beach Atlantic, Corder added 22 to her 628 season total. She's now averaging 5.23 digs per set.

Senior setter Lacey Malarky recorded 45 assists, while Natalie Branche participated in eight blocks.

For the Lions, four attackers reached double-digits, with Bletso and McKenna recording the highs with 16. Setter Michelle Nogueras provided 54 assists as she was three kills away from recording a triple-double. Saint Leo finished with a .192 attacking percentage.

Saint Leo earned the season sweep as it defeated Rollins earlier in the season, 3-0 back on Sept. 30.

The Tars return to action, Friday Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. for another Sunshine State Conference match on the road against Tampa.

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