VOLLEYBALL GAMEDAY: Tritons Aim to Reclaim First Place in SSC

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd volleyball team can reclaim a share of first place in the Sunshine State Conference standings tonight when the Tritons visit Saint Leo for a 7:00 PM match.

MATCH 24: Eckerd (15-8, 7-3 SSC) at Saint Leo (16-8, 8-2 SSC) | Saint Leo, Fla. | 7:00 PM
COVERAGE: Stats | Video

FIGHTING FOR FIRST: Tonight will have a rather important impact on the SSC standings.  In addition to Eckerd's visit to Saint Leo, the other two teams tied for second in the conference - Tampa and Florida Southern - will also face each other tonight.  An Eckerd win would mean a three-way tie for first place with Saint Leo and the winner of the Tampa/Florida Southern match.  An EC loss would drop the Tritons two games behind in the standings.

SECOND TIME AROUND: Eckerd won the first meeting with Saint Leo this season, sweeping the Lions in St. Petersburg on September 27.  Eckerd won all three sets by two points in a tightly-contested match.  SLU hasn't lost in conference play since.  The Tritons were led by Kali Boatwright's 16-kill performance while JaQuayla Baker added 10 kills.

ABOUT SAINT LEO: The Lions are coming off a perfect 3-0 week that included an important sweep of Florida Southern to stay atop the SSC standings.  Senior Hope Lemon recently passed the 1000-kill mark for her career and leads the team in attacking with 3.56 kills per set.  Despite being among the bottom teams in the conference in hitting percentage (.196), Saint Leo is third in kills leads the SSC in digs.