VOLLEYBALL GAMEDAY: Eckerd vs. Saint Leo

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After opening conference play on the road against the defending national champions, the Eckerd College volleyball team returns to the McArthur Center to host Saint Leo on Saturday at 4:00 PM.

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SETTING THE STAGE
Both Eckerd (5-3, 0-1) and Saint Leo (5-3, 0-1) will look for their first win in Sunshine State Conference play as both fell to No. 5 Tampa in their conference openers.  The Lions have faced some tough competition in the early season with four matches against teams in the Top 25.  SLU won two of those matches over No. 21 Arkansas-Fort Smith and No. 24 West Texas A&M.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Lions got 17 kills from Lauren Campbell on their way to a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-19, 25-22) over the Tritons in Saint Leo on October 31, 2014.  Tjasa Kotnik led Eckerd with 10 kills.  The teams split the season series last year, with EC winning in five sets at home on September 27.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Eckerd leads the all-time series over Saint Leo, 39-31.  The teams have split the season series each of the last two years.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Saint Leo has been strong on the attack this season, currently leading the conference with 12.58 kills per set.  The Lions also spread the ball around quite a bit with four players averaging better than 2.0 kills per set.  Hope Lemon (3.63) leads the way followed by Anna Siruckova (2.62), Jillian Stolzenburg (2.19) and Britt Sederholm (2.13).

LEADING THE WAY
Senior Tjasa Kotnik leads the Sunshine State Conference in kills per set (4.56) and points per set (5.34).  She also ranks in the top 10 nationally in both categories, sitting in eighth in kills and fourth in points.  The Tritons will need a big day from her in order to pick up their first conference win of the year.