Orlando, Fla. – Silvia Sartori recorded 16 kills and 18 digs as the Lee volleyball team opened up the South Region Crossover with a win over Nova Southeastern in straight sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) on Friday night.
Hanna Matthews helped Sartori and the team with 35 assists on the evening while Allie Koepfer and MaKayla Beebe recorded 15 digs each.
Nova hung around in the first set, including fighting off one set point on a kill by Leslie Atherton to cut the score to 24-23 before a Sartori kill allowed Lee to come out with a 1-0 match lead.
After jumping out to a 15-10 lead in set two thanks to a 6-1 run Nova Southeastern mounted a comeback taking a 22-21 lead before the Lady Flames used a 4-1 run to end the set 25-23.
Lee jumped out to a big 20-10 advantage in set three and held off a late charge from the Sharks to claim the victory. Alex Reuter would slam home the match point off a pass from Matthews.
The win moves the Lady Flames to the .500 mark at 12-12 for the first time this season. Nova Southeastern fell to 5-18.
The Sharks were paced by Atherton with 10 kills. Samantha Blasko recorded 20 assists while Megan Burns collected 26 digs.
"I'm really glad we were able to win tonight. The crossover is always tough and tomorrow looks to be our toughest challenge in a while against the number six ranked Tampa. Saint Leo will also be a challenge so we are hoping the girls step up and play well," said head coach Andrea Hudson.
Lee will wrap up the crossover tomorrow as Coach Hudson's squad battles sixth ranked University of Tampa at 12:15 p.m. before squaring off with Saint Leo University at 7 p.m.
