BOCA RATON, Fla. – Graduate student Nikolija Katanic smacked a match-high 12 kills to lead the Lynn University women's volleyball team to a 3-0 shutout of Saint Leo, Tuesday night at the de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center.
 
The victory is the eighth-straight home win for the Fighting Knights as they improve to 19-5 overall and 11-4 in the Sunshine State Conference. The eight-straight wins have all come via 3-0 shutout as Lynn has won 24-consecutive games at home.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn hit .290 with 47 kills and 11 blocks as it posted set wins of 25-16, 25-17, 25-23
- Katanic's 12 kills are a career-high and she hit .647 with three blocks
- The Lions pulled to within one at 14-13 in the first set before the Fighting Knights used an 8-1 run for a 22-14 lead
- Lynn later took advantage of a handful of Saint Leo errors and graduate Monica Mazzoleni smacked a kill as the hosts took game one 25-16
- Lynn hit .333 in game two, but the Lions rebounded from a 13-9 deficit to tie things at 15-15 behind a pair of kills from Elizabeth Sandoval
- The Fighting Knights took control from that point on the second set by outscoring Saint Leo 10-2
- Blocks from Katanic, sophomore Aline Olegario and senior Nadia Lindner kick started the run and kills from Olegario and Mazzoleni scored the final two points for the 25-17 victory
- Saint Leo didn't back down after falling behind 2-0 and built early momentum in the third set
- The Lions grabbed a quick 4-2 advantage and extended that lead to 12-7 behind two more kills from Sandoval
- Senior Paige Barash smacked a kill to pull Lynn to within 12-8 and the hosts rattled off 10 of the next 12 points for an 18-13 cushion. Lindner smacked five kills during the 10 points
- The Lions again rebounded and pulled to within one point on three occasions including 24-23 after Lynn built its lead to 24-20
- Mazzoleni closed out the set and match with a final kill for a 25-23 win
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT NUMBERS:
- Lindner finished with nine kills and nine digs
- Mazzoleni hit .350 with eight kills, while senior Emily Edwards finished with seven kills, 35 assists and seven digs
- Graduate Marin Black posted 13 digs
 
UP NEXT:
- Lynn returns to the court on Friday night at Florida Tech at 7:00 pm