Five different players had at least nine kills to lead the Stetson volleyball team (9-15) to a 30-13, 30-25, 30-24 sweep of Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman Tuesday evening at the Edmunds Center. Senior outside hitter Beth Slabaugh (Dearborn, Mich.) and sophomore right side Sarah Sears (Ashburn, Va.) each set career highs for attack percentage.
The Hatters dominated the first game, jumping out to a 13-3 lead behind three kills and an ace from senior middle blocker Gina Iacona (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River HS). Stetson continued to press its advantage, pulling away to a 25-8 lead and cruising to the 30-13 victory.
The Wildcats (7-12) regrouped to take an early 5-4 lead in Game 2 but were immediately undone by a 5-0 Stetson run. B-CU would keep the game close, never falling behind by more than six points, but never got closer than two points as the Hatters took the 30-25 win.
Following intermission, the third game was a back-and-forth affair the first third of the way through. Trailing 8-7, Stetson came up with four consecutive points to take a three-point lead it would not relinquish, although the Wildcats would mount a late comeback to come within 23-22 before the Hatters finished the match on a 7-2 run.
For the match, Stetson hit .303 with 51 kills and just 15 errors in 119 attempts, a season high for team attack percentage. Sears and Slabaugh had nine kills each while making just one error between them; Sears hit .571 while Slabaugh hit .474, both career-high figures.
Junior outside hitter Rebecca Orzechowicz (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) just missed her third consecutive double-double, finishing with 10 kills and nine digs while contributing to three blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Laura Boyd (La Crescenta, Calif.) had 10 kills and got in on three blocks. Senior setter Karla Readshaw (Huntington Beach, Calif.), the reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Week, notched 42 assists (her season high for a three-game match) and nine digs. Senior left side Rachel Miller (Longwood, Fla./Orangewood Christian HS) led all players in the match with 14 digs.
Kaiyana Johnson had 10 kills for Bethune-Cookman while setter Julie Gibson proved a double threat with 23 assists and eight kills. Keisha Vicks made 13 digs and Shakhea Moore-Hagins had 10. The Hatters held the Wildcats to a .110 attack percentage, second-lowest by a Stetson opponent in 2007.
“We had a good team effort tonight with great offensive performances by Beth (Slabaugh) and Sarah (Sears) and the same on the defensive side by Rachel Miller,” Head Coach Cheryl Carlson said. “I was also glad to get Jessica Pauszek (sophomore defensive specialist) in the match and she had a service ace right off the bat.”
The Hatters close out Atlantic Sun conference play Saturday afternoon at North Florida; first serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. Stetson, which defeated the Ospreys 30-27, 30-25, 30-9 in a non-conference match on August 25, must win to keep itself in the race to qualify for the conference tournament for the first time since 1995.
