The Women of the Saint Leo University Volleyball team won their third straight win last weekend, beating Rollins in a thrilling match on the night of Sept. 23 before beating Embry-Riddle on the afternoon of Sept. 24. With the home court advantage and many Saint Leo Fans in the gym, the Lions seemed unstoppable and determined to win.
The win against the University of Tampa was a special one. Tampa’s Volleyball team is a two-time National Champion and currently ranks as number sixteen in the Nation. Their last National title was in Louisville, Kentucky two years ago. In last year’s season, they slightly lost in the NCAA South Regional Tournament against Florida Southern.
“The win over Tampa is huge for us because it was only the second time in Saint Leo history. We are really excited to see what else we can do. We have so many players that can play every position. Every single person on this team has so much to contribute to this win tonight,” said Britt Sederholm, junior.
“I was really happy with the effort tonight. We had two good sets at the beginning, but then came in a little flat in the third. Then we realized it is just one game at a time and we bounced back nicely in the fourth set,” said head coach Sam Cibrone.
Sederholm is one of the key players this season with appearances in eleven out of twelve games. She scored 97 “kills” this season, while having fourteen assists. With an average of 2.62 points per set she is the second most scoring Lion after Hope Lemon with an average of almost four points per set.
During the Saint Leo white out game against Rollins, the Lions started off with a winning set, but then fell short against a strong Rollins offensive, taking the second and third set. In the fourth set, the Lions came back with a strong performance by Sophomore Avery Bradshaw, who scored thirteen points.
In the fifth and final set the Lions quickly took the lead before the Rollins Tars came back. Sederholm brought back the Lions and they did not give their lead back until they sealed the win.
The Lions saw a career high performance by Bradshaw scoring sixteen points, while having eight digs. Defensively, Jamee Townsend tailed 26 digs, which puts her only 27 digs away from her 1,000 career digs.
Townsend, a senior from Plant City, FL, has been a stand-out player for the Lions. She recently earned her second Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Week award after having a massive performance in the game against Tampa. She had a match-best nineteen digs and is leading the SSC with an average of 5.14 digs per set.
However, in the game against Embry Riddle, someone else had a standout performance. Junior setter Maddy Powell put on a show by having 25 assists, while having ten digs and scoring nine points. The Lions clearly dominated the match by winning all three sets that saved them their third consecutive win.
The Team now has a season score of 8-4, while being unbeaten on their home court. Next up, they face four more conference team before having a three day tournament with other South Regional teams.
