The Lee volleyball team ran into to a pair of tough challenges as they lost to No. 2 Washburn, 3-0 and Saint Leo 3-0 on day one of the Lee Invitational.

The Lady Flames (1-5) will look to get into the win column tomorrow as they wrap up the weekend with Erskine at 3:15 p.m. and Trevecca at 7 p.m.

"We're playing the top teams in the country and they know how to finish a match and we have to learn how to play a complete set," said Lee head coach Callie Tabisz. 

LEE 0 SAINT LEO 3
Thanks to 16 kills from powerful outside hitter Elizabeth Sandoval the Saint Leo Lions defeated Lee, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-17 in Friday's nightcap. 

The Lady Flames and Lions seesawed back and forth throughout the early portion of each set but each time Saint Leo had a mid-set run that helped turn the tide in its favor.

Abby Stroh and Macy Petty led the Lady Flames with seven kills each. Stroh added 12 digs and two aces. Ashton Middleton had 12 assists and Clarissa Soza posted 11. 

"Both of our setters did a good job of putting our attackers in a position to score, particularly in the Washburn match," added Tabisz. "We're giving ourselves good opportunities but we have to do better at finishing off the points."

As a team the Lions used the service game to their advantage with 10 aces. Skylar Singleton had 18 assists and Tajma Muharemovic added 16. Marysa Connors roamed the backline with 14 digs while Jeanette Henderson had 13 digs and three aces.

The Lady Flames hit .117 as a team while Saint Leo posted a .264 attack percentage. The Lions are now 4-2 on the year after winning both of their matches on Friday.

LEE 0 WASHBURN 3
The Lady Flames fell to No. 2 and last year's national runner-up Washburn, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-17) to open the Lee Invitational on Friday afternoon.

Macy Petty had six first set kills and ended with nine to lead the Lady Flames attack. Abby Stroh added seven slams and 10 digs. Ashton Middleton had 17 assists while Clarissa Sosa pitched in nine. Scottie Cook added four kills and guarded the net with three blocks.

The Ichabods featured a powerful, balanced attack with 11 different players recording a kill. Halle Meister and Samantha Moburg had seven kills each and Kassidy Pfeiffer registered six. Sophie McMullen served up a pair of aces and tallied 11 digs. Sydney Connor posted 18 assists and Corinna McMullen added 17 as they shared time at the setter position.

As a team the Lady Flames hit .150 while the Ichabods posted a .288 attack percentage. Washburn finished with seven aces while the Lady Flames countered with three.  

Washburn went on to defeat Montevallo, 3-1 in its second match of the day to improve to 6-0 on the young season.