SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team finished competition at Saint Leo University's Lions Volleyball Fall Tournament with two losses on Saturday in the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Purple Knights lost to Valdosta State University, 3-0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-20), and Saint Edward's University, 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-19).
 
TOURNAMENT FACTS

• First-year Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) was named to the all-tournament team.
• The Purple Knights faced Valdosta State and Saint Edward's each for the first time.
• Saint Michael's took its first trip ever beyond the Northeast Corridor.
• Sophomore Kyla Farnan (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle) dropped six aces against Saint Edward's, the most by a Purple Knight since Natalie Moore '17 on Sept. 26, 2015, against Maine Maritime Academy.

Valdosta State Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (2-4), Valdosta State (5-2)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Farnan, 11 digs, 2 assists
• Schulze, 8 kills
• Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 17 assists, 12 digs
• Senior Jillian Orth (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 9 digs
• Junior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 6 digs
• Sophomore Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), 4 kills, 5 digs, .500 hitting
• First-year Mahili McKay (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd), 5 kills

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Kaia Baker, 23 digs, 5 aces
• Senior Audrey Bennett, 33 assists, 7 digs
• Senior Jojo Smith, 13 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces

THE ACTION

• Valdosta State scored the first three points of the opening set before an error allowed the Purple Knights to forge in front at 6-5. The Blazers responded with a 15-1 run.
• Schulze's kill had Saint Michael's within 10-6 in the second set, but Smith dropped a pair of kills in an ensuing 6-0 run. The Purple Knights cut the deficit to three points on three occasions, including on Welch's kill at 23-20, but Smith responded with a kill and Baker with a clinching ace.
• Schulze had six of her kills in set No. 3, when the teams played through 11 ties and five lead swings. Neither led by more than two points until Schulze had three kills and Almeida an ace in a 4-0 run that put their team up 18-14, but the Blazers countered with a match-ending 11-2 stretch.

Saint Edward's Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (2-5), Saint Edward's (6-2)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Almeida, 12 kills, .522 hitting
• Báez Rentas, 27 assists, 15 digs, 4 kills
• Farnan, 16 digs, 6 aces, 6 assists
• McKay, 7 kills
• Orth, 9 digs
• Welch, 9 kills, 2 aces
• Senior Aaliyah Huihui-Martinez (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), 10 digs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Jazzy Williams, 19 digs, 5 aces
• Redshirt junior Addy Badley, 10 kills
• Redshirt sophomore Kat Neille, 15 kills, .429 hitting
• First-year Althea Morris, 33 assists

THE ACTION

• Saint Edward's scored six of the first seven points in the opening set en route to taking a 12-6 lead. After a Welch kill brought her team within 13-9, Farnan posted aces for five of the next nine points, with the 10-0 run putting Saint Michael's up 18-13. The Hilltoppers erased a 21-17 hole when first-year Mia Clay's kill made it 24-24, but an error and Welch's ace clinched the set for the Purple and Gold.
• Saint Michael's was down just 9-6 in the second set before Saint Edward's began pulling away with a 6-1 run, never again leading by fewer than six points.
• Set No. 3 featured eight ties, with neither team leading by more than two points until the Hilltoppers broke a 13-all tie with a 4-0 surge. Saint Michael's never came closer than three points from there.
• Sophomore Kelli Fording's kill capped a 3-0 run that put Saint Edward's up 12-7 in the fourth set, but a card later allowed the Purple Knights to edge within 20-19. Three Hilltoppers notched kills in a clinching 5-0 run.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Next Sunday vs. Roberts Wesleyan University (10 a.m.) and Post University (2 p.m.).