DELAND, Fla. ? The Stetson volleyball squad fought hard in Friday night's opener of the Stetson Invitational, but fell to Oral Roberts 3-1 (30-25, 25-30, 30-18, 30-26) at the Edmunds Center.
“We fought hard and didn't quit,” said head coach Cheryl Carlson. “They really are a good team. That No. 12 (Jackie Oliveira) really is the real deal.”
The first game was neck-and-neck throughout with Oral Roberts (5-3) squeaking out a victory to take an early 1-0 advantage. The Golden Eagles hit an amazing .441 and were led by Janete Ferreira and Oliveira, recording six kills apiece. Senior Beth Slabaugh tried her best to keep Stetson (4-4) in the game with six kills of her own, but with the Hatters down two, 27-25, the Golden Eagles garnered the final three points culminated by a kill from Oliveira.
The Hatters came back strong to take game two behind solid efforts from Slabaugh and sophomore Laura Boyd as they each recorded four kills. Karla Readshaw directed the offense with 15 assists while also pitching in on the defensive end with five digs. Stetson was in control never trailing in the second game and senior Gina Iacona finished things off with a kill.
In game three Stetson jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but it did not last long. Oral Roberts scored the next three points to tie up the game and went on to out-score Stetson 26-14 the rest of the way highlighted by a 6-0 run mid-way through the game.
Oliveira took over in game four recording nine kills. Rebecca Orzechowicz and Iacona helped mount a charge for the Hatters with five kills each, but the Golden Eagles proved to be too much stretching their lead out to as many as nine. Stetson showed some fight at the end, pulling to within two at the 27-25 mark, but Oral Roberts connected on three of the next four points to earn its fifth win of the season.
“We lost the momentum in the third game,” said Carlson. “We came back strong in the fourth, but were not able to completely rebound.”
Readshaw (46 assists, 16 digs) and Orzechowicz (10 kills, 13 digs) each recorded double-doubles, and Slabaugh led the squad with 16 kills. Iacona was a force in the middle notching 10 kills, three block assists and one block solo.
Oliveira registered a match-high 26 kills while Oliveira was not far behind with 19. Juliane Vieira was also big for ORU picking up match-highs in assists (58) and digs (17).
Stetson will be back in action at the Edmunds Center on Saturday, Sept. 8 when they battle Florida International at 7 p.m.
