VOLLEYBALL GAMEDAY: Eckerd at Saint Leo

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After an impressive performance at the South Region Crossover last weekend, the Eckerd College volleyball team will look to carry the momentum back into conference play as the Tritons travel to face Saint Leo tonight at 7:00 PM.

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SETTING THE STAGE
The Tritons (11-7, 3-4) were part of a dominating performance by the Sunshine State Conference at last weekend's South Region Crossover, going 3-0 at the event. Saint Leo (13-5, 5-2) also went unbeaten with two straight sets wins and currently sits in second place in the conference standings.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Lions hit .324 for the match on their way to a 3-1 win over Eckerd in the McArthur Center on September 19, 2015. EC had a 23-22 lead in the fourth set looking to extend the match to five, but Saint Leo took the last three points of the set to finish the win. Tjasa Kotnik put away 21 kills to lead the Tritons.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Eckerd leads the all-time series over Saint Leo, 39-32. The teams have split the season series each of the last two years.

ABOUT THE LIONS
- Saint Leo enters tonight on a seven-match winning streak and is unbeaten in the month of October. In those seven matches, the Lions have lost only two sets and at one point had won 19 straight sets.
- Hope Lemon leads the SLU attack, averaging 3.15 kills per set. Anna Siruckova (2.89 per set) and Britt Sederholm (2.53 per set) add balance to the team's attack. The Lions rank second in the conference in hitting percentage (.239) while limiting opponents to a .185 hitting percentage.
- Saint Leo has proven to be a very effective team on its serve receive. SLU ranks tops in the conference in opponent service aces per set (0.74), the only team averaging under one ace allowed per set in the league.

ABOUT THE TRITONS
- JaQuayla Baker had a monster weekend at the South Region Crossover, totaling 53 kills (4.1 per set) while hitting .407 in the three matches. She posted a career-best 27 kills to lead Eckerd back from a two-set deficit in a 3-2 win over Valdosta State (Ga.). She has moved into fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.322) on the season.
- Tjasa Kotnik continues to rank among the top attackers in the conference at 4.07 kills per set, good for second behind Tampa's Berkley Whaley. Kotnik leads the conference in service aces with 36.
- The Tritons enter tonight's match in sixth place in the conference standings, but the race is a tight one as EC remains just one game out of third place. Two wins in conference this week could potentially move Eckerd into the top four.