Macon, Ga. ? Senior middle blocker Gina Iacona (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River HS) tied her career high with 17 kills tonight but it wasn't enough for the Stetson volleyball team (7-15, 2-7 Atlantic Sun), which lost its seventh straight match Friday night at Mercer. Game scores were 24-30, 20-26, 30-26, 30-23.
The Hatters started the match on a strong note by rallying from an early 4-1 deficit in Game 1 with a 6-0 run to take the lead. They would stay comfortably ahead the rest of the game, leading by as much as 11 at 27-16. Mercer staved off game point three times but an Iacona kill finally gave the win to Stetson. It was the first time since the 3-2 win at Charleston Southern on August 31 that the Hatters won a game to 30 on the road.
That would prove to be the high point of the match for Stetson as the Bears captured the next three games to improve to 8-15 overall and 6-2 in the A-Sun. In Game 2, the Hatters led 10-7 until Mercer's 5-0 run put them ahead for good; much the same thing happened after the intermission in Game 3 when early Stetson leads of 10-5 and 13-10 vanished in the wake of a 6-0 streak by the Bears. Twice in Game 3 the Hats came within one point but could not get the tying tally on the scoreboard.
Game 4 was a back-and-forth affair for the first half of the game but following a two-point rally that saw Stetson tie it at 16, Mercer went on another long run, this one 10-2, to go up 26-18. The Hatters refused to go quietly as they reeled off five consecutive points, including two Iacona kills, to get within 26-23. However, the Bears regrouped and scored the last four points to get the key victory.
Iacona hit .469, the third time this season she has had an attack percentage higher than .400 while adding seven digs. The other time she collected 13 kills in a match was last November 4, also against Mercer. Junior outside hitter Rebecca Orzechowicz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) notched 17 kills and 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Senior setter Karla Readshaw (Huntington Beach, Calif.) nearly had her second career triple-double, tallying 46 assists, 14 digs and seven kills. Her classmate Rachel Miller (Longwood, Fla./Orange Christian HS) had an excellent defensive game, putting up 22 digs, one shy of her career high. Sophomore middle blocker Laura Boyd (La Crescenta, Calif.) was a force in the frontcourt with a career-high seven block assists. Slabaugh had 14 kills and eight digs while junior libero Melanie Boyer (New Holland, Ill.) recorded 11 digs.
Karen Dorris had 13 kills and 18 digs for the Bears while Drennan Dexheimer had 17 kills and a .400 attack percentage. Jen Darty notched 14 kills and Claire Tucker led all players in the match with 33 digs. Setter Kelly Jansen had 51 assists.
Mercer's win locked up a spot in the A-Sun conference tournament, which they will host Nov. 15-17. The hopes of the Hatters are now hanging by a thread; to make the tournament they must win their last two league matches while Gardner-Webb (4-4 A-Sun) must also lose its last three conference tilts.
The Hatters conclude their two-game road swing Saturday at Kennesaw State. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.
