SAINT LEO, FLA. – The Florida Panthers volleyball team headed to Saint Leo, Fla. On Saturday evening as the Panthers were unable to capture their first SSC win of the season matching up against the Saint Leo Lions.

FINAL: Florida Tech 1, Saint Leo 3
Records: Florida Tech (4-8, 0-4 SSC) Saint Leo (8-2, 3-1 SSC)
Locations: Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.

STATS OF THE MATCH:

First Set:

• Florida Tech trailed in the first set down 6-2 after two kills from Kennedy DeLuca of the Lions helped them get out to an early lead.
• Tech maintained to not give up, later tying the set at 9-9. The Panthers comeback effort was highlighted by freshman Danelli Mejia.
• Tied 10-10, the Lions once ago took a slight lead over Tech at 15-12 with Reagan Hopp recording two kills in the 5-2 run.
• The Panthers largest deficit came down five at 19-15 before two kills in a row from Chiara Patelli and one kill from Antia Vallecas Rodriguez allowed Tech to trail by just two.
• Still down three at 22-19, another three-point run from Tech brought the set to within one at 22-21.
• The run was started with a solo block from María Jesús Muñoz, a kill from Cordelia Kearns, and another kill from Muñoz.
• The Lions were one point away from winning the set ahead by two, 24-22, until the Panthers rallied back to score two in a row with a bad set by the Lions followed by a kill from Devyn Glassgold.
• Glassgold recorded her second kill in a row to push tech ahead 25-24 before an attack error by Kearns following a Saint Leo timeout tied the set 25-25.
• The freshman duo of Mejia followed by Kearns making up for her recent error helped the Panthers win the set 27-25 and take a 1-0 lead in the set against the Lions.

 
Second Set:

• The second set saw the Lions pull ahead 5-1, following two attack errors by the Panthers and kills from Saint Leo's Hopp, DeLuca and Durka Oliwia.
• Saint Leo continue to cruise, leading 9-3 with the only Lions kill from Sheila Rodriguez.
• Kills from Kearns and Glassgold helped bring Tech back to within two at 11-9.
• A exciting rally of six combined kills in a row between both teams saw Tech down by just one 16-15.
• In that run, Mejia tallied two kills with Kearns scoring one for Tech. Hopp and Margaret Schrim recorded two of the Lions kills in the run.
• Following two attack errors by the Lions, Tech had tied the set 17-17.
• Three points in a row by Saint Leo brought them to a 20-17 lead with kills recorded by Madi Certain and Durka, along with a service ace by Tajma Muharemovic.
• A service error by the Lions and service ace from Jeanne Hassoun saw the Panthers trail by one 20-19.
• Five of the next seven points were awarded to the Lions as Saint Leo captured set two 25-21 and tied the match 1-1.
• Two kills from Durka and three from Hopp were the biggest factors in the Lions winning the second set.

 
Third Set:

• As Tech opened the third set with a 9-5 lead, Saint Leo would look to adjust with a timeout. The 9-5 run was highlighted by two kills from Kearns.
• Later on the Panthers recorded six straight points to lead by eight at 15-7 with Mejia, Patelli and Vallecas Rodriguez each recording a kill before another Saint Leo timeout.
• Back-to-back service aces from Vallecas Rodriguez allowed the Crimson and Gray to lead by nine at 18-9.
• Eight points in a row for the Lions would inevitably by the downfall for the Panthers in the third as Madi Certain tallied three aces in the run with Durka and DeLuca recording kills for the Lions in their comeback effort.
• Two kills from Kearns and one from Kenzie Delacher looked to give the Panthers hope, leading 22-19.
• Six unanswered points by the Lions however, allowed them the win the pivotal third set by a score of 25-22, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The six points came thanks to two kills from Certain and one from Hopp.

 
Fourth Set:

• Florida Tech came out in the fourth set leading 6-4, until another eight unanswered points by the Lions saw Saint Leo lead 12-6.
• The eight-point run was highlighted by two kills from Hopp.
• After a kill from Kearns, Saint Leo recorded six more unanswered points, four of which coming off of errors from Florida Tech, to put the Lions ahead 18-9.
• The Lions large lead overpowered the Panthers as Saint Leo would go on to win the fourth set 25-14 and win the match 3-1 after winning three straight sets.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Saint Leo leads the all-time series 35-25.
• The Lions have won the previous 19 matches at Saint Leo.
• Tech's last win at Saint Leo back on November 14, 2003.
• Devyn Glassgold recorded her 200^th career kill in the first set.
• Kenzie Delacher recorded her 1,200-career assist in the first set.
• The Lions and Panthers battled close in the stats with Saint Leo out scoring Tech in points (67-60), kills (57-50) and assists (42-41).
• Tech and Saint Leo tied two categories with four aces and six blocks.
• The Panthers tallied more digs than the Lions (64-62).
• Reagan Hopp was the leading scorer of the match with 20.5 points from 20 kills and one block assist.
• For Tech, Patelli tallied 16 points from 12 kills, three solo blocks and one ace.
• Muharemovic recorded a total of 37 digs for the Lions to lead the match. Hassoun recorded 21 digs to lead the Panthers.
• In digs, Kari Voelstad Bogen led the match between both teams with 21 digs.

 
UP NEXT:
The Panthers will return to action at home Friday, September 29^th for he first Aloha Friday of the season. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 P.M. at the Charles and Ruth Clemente Center.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech volleyball team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.