No. 3 Spartans Fend off Mauling Lions

Tampa, Fla. – No. 3 Spartans defeat Lions at home to improve to 5-0 in SSC play.

Final Score: Tampa 3 (1: 25-9, 2: 24-26, 3: 25-12, 1: 22-25, 1: 15-6), Saint Leo 2

Records: No. 3 Tampa (11-0, 5-0 SSC), Saint Leo (8-2, 3-1 SSC) 

Location: Bob Martinez Sports Center| Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

First Set: The beginning of the first set was looking to be a rout by most measures, even through an early timeout by Saint Leo, Tampa led 9-2 at one point. The Spartans continued to coast in the set as they were never tied or lost the lead, recording 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .500 as a team. Score: 25-9 | Tampa

Second Set: The Lions came out to a much better start in the second set, staying within a few points of the Spartans until the middle of the set. The set would stay close throughout and in the end Saint Leo would edge out Tampa to take set two. Score: 26-24 | Saint Leo

Third Set: Tampa would settle back into a rhythm and the third set would look much like the first set. The Spartans would dominate behind Jenna Davis's play and take set three to lead the match. Score: 25-12 | Tampa

Fourth Set: The Lions, however, would not go down with a fight. The team started to gain momentum during the set and would capitalize on key moments throughout the set. Saint Leo would force a fifth set winning a close fourth set 25-22. Score: 25-22 | Saint Leo

Fifth Set: Tampa would lose the first point of the fifth set but after that would win the next several points to jump out to a big lead in the final set. Saint Leo would hang tough but the Spartans would win the final set to take the match. Score: 28-26 | Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS: 

• Jenna Davis had a .524 hitting percentage
• The Spartans out-blocked the Lions 12-4
• Tampa is now 5-0 in conference play