The Stetson volleyball team (7-14, 2-6 Atlantic Sun) honored its four graduating seniors today at the Edmunds Center before getting swept in three games by A-Sun rival Jacksonville. Game scores were 30-19, 30-22, 30-26.
The Dolphins (14-11, 7-2 A-Sun) used a 7-0 run midway through the first game to jump out to an 11-6 lead they would not relinquish. The second game featured a nearly complete re-enactment of that as JU erased a 5-2 Hatter lead with an 8-0 run to go up 10-5. The Hatters would rally back to within two points at 14-12 on a rarely seen play as senior setter Karla Readshaw (Huntington Beach, Calif.) nailed home a pass from junior outside hitter Rebecca Orzechowicz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS); normally that play would proceed in the other direction. That was as close as Stetson would come in Game 2, however, as Jacksonville then embarked on a 5-1 run and went on to win by eight.
Stetson came out after the intermission and hung with the Dolphins for most of the match and appeared to be in position to force a fourth game when senior outside hitter Beth Slabaugh (Dearborn, Mich.) came through with her third kill in four points to give the home team a 23-21 lead.
Jacksonville would rally after a timeout with three straight points of their own; although Stetson tied it up again at 24 on a kill by senior middle blocker Gina Iacona (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River HS), JU ended the match with a 6-2 run to hand the Hatters their sixth consecutive loss.
Readshaw had a strong match for the Hatters, tallying 24 assists, 12 digs and seven kills with a .636 hitting percentage. Iacona came up with six kills and was in on five blocks, tying her season high. Slabaugh recorded her third consecutive double-double and ninth of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs. It was also the third straight match in which Slabaugh notched exactly 13 kills. Junior libero Melanie Boyer (New Holland, Ill.) tied for the team high with 12 digs while Orzechowicz and sophomore right side Sarah Sears (Ashburn, Va.) were a part of three blocks each.
Five Jacksonville players reached double-digit kills, paced by Aidan Yeager's 14 on .519 hitting without making an error. Brittany Lehman had 12, Melissa Merchant had 11 while hitting .450 and Sara Bendorf also had 11 to go along with 16 digs. Setter Hannah Munneke notched 44 assists while libero Michelle Walroth had 25 digs. Merchant contributed to eight of JU's 13 blocks while Bendorf had five block assists.
Prior to the match, the four Stetson seniors, Iacona, Readshaw, Slabaugh and setter Rachel Miller (Longwood, Fla./Orangewood Christian HS) were honored for their contributions to Hatter Volleyball.
“I thought we played with perhaps a little too much emotion on Senior Night,” Head Coach Cheryl Carlson said. “Gina Iacona had an exceptional match; she blocked really well. Overall our blocking has improved considerably in the last two weeks. We need to continue that improvement as we go on the road next weekend.”
Stetson travels to Georgia for a pair of conference matches next weekend starting with a 7 p.m. Friday contest at Mercer before visiting Kennesaw State Saturday at 4 p.m.
