Saint Leo Outlasts Rollins

WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 26, 2021) - The Saint Leo Lions were able to defeat the Rollins Tars on Friday night in Winter Park, taking the match by a score of 3-1.

The first set began with the Lions coming out hot. Saint Leo was able to jump out to an early 6-2 advantage, and used multiple small rallies throughout to maintain the lead. It was too much for Rollins to overcome, and led to the Lions taking the first set 25-16. Ashley Quero was the top scorer for the Lions with four kills. Emma Begley led the Tars with three kills in the first go round. 

Set two started off as a more competitive effort from the Tars. Once again, Saint Leo jumped out to an early lead, but Rollins was able to rally back and keep it close, up to 13-12. A streak of seven straight points in the middle of the set helped the Lions pull away. Though Rollins fought hard to come back once again, they could not make it happen, leading to another 25-16 Saint Leo win. 

Rollins refused to go down without a fight in set number three. A reinvigorated Tars squad came out aggressively, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. Emma Begley turned up her defense, recording two blocks early in the set. A Saint Leo timeout killed the Tars' momentum, and brought the Lions all the way back to 11-10. Rollins then went a run of their own, regaining a four point lead for the next few minutes. Both teams would exchange a barrage of kills and errors, setting up a tie score at 21 all. The teams would also tie at 22, 24, and 25. The Tars were able to secure the final two points on a Marlee Johnson kill and an attack error from the Lions to take the third set 27-25. Rollins saw vast improvement in their attack during the set, recording 13 kills against only two errors.

The Tars could not hold the momentum as play went into the fourth set.  The Tars got a kill from Candace Doxey to go up 5-4.  Saint Leo then took seven straight points to grab an 11-5 lead.  The Lions would not relent, taking the clinching set 25-13.  

On the day, Rollins' Candace Doxey, Marlee Johnson, and Emma Begley led the Tars with seven kills a piece. Rebecca Kuehn led the team in assists for the fourth straight game with 28. On defense, Begley and Abbie Tutor were the top performers with three blocks each.
 
UP NEXT:
Rollins will turn around and hit the courts again tomorrow. In the first road trip of the season for Rollins, they will travel to Lakeland to take on the Florida Southern Moccasins at 6 pm.  

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Rollins volleyball, fans can visit RollinsSports.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following Rollins Sports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram