DeLand, Fla. ? The Stetson volleyball team fell to 1-5 on the season with a pair of losses to Robert Morris and the College of Charleston to conclude the 2008 Holiday Inn Stetson Invitational Saturday at the Edmunds Center. The Hatters lost 25-20, 25-15, 26-28, 25-13 to RMU and 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 to the Cougars. Senior libero Melanie Boyer (New Holland, Ill.) and freshman setter Jennica Hagberg (Niceville, Fla.) earned All-Tournament honors.
The Hatters took an early 4-2 lead in the first set against Robert Morris but an 8-0 Colonial run erased that and put the visitors ahead to stay. The second set went no better for Stetson as RMU served for 10 straight points to start out.
The Hatters would not threaten until the third set, which Stetson led by as many as four points. Three straight Colonial tallies wiped out a 20-17 Hatter advantage and set the stage for an exciting finish to the set. Stetson fended off match point twice thanks to kills by freshman middle blocker Sam Freeman (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) and sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Canfield (Panama City, Fla.) and finally went up 27-26 on a service error. The Hatters nailed down set point on a block by junior right side Sarah Sears (Ashburn, Va.) and freshman middle blocker Sam Stonish (Stony Brook, N.Y.)
Stetson led 6-5 early in the fourth set but an 11-3 RMU run soon put an end to any thoughts of a comeback. All-Tournament middle blocker Amanda Graham served three consecutive aces to punctuate that run and the Robert Morris victory.
Junior middle blocker Laura Boyd (La Crescenta, Calif.) hit .435 with a team-high 12 kills to pace the Hatter offense. Hagberg notched her second straight double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs while junior defensive specialist Anna Becker (McLean, Ill.) contributed 11 digs. Freeman and Canfield had eight and seven kills, respectively.
Emily Wolthuis (13 kills, 13 digs) had a double-double for RMU and was one of four Colonials with double-figure kills. Graham tallied 11 kills, seven aces and four blocks while libero Alaina Gibson came up with 17 digs. Setter Alyssa Bennett handed out 46 assists and recorded 11 digs.
Later in the afternoon, the Hatters found themselves unable to get anything going against the four-time defending Southern Conference champion College of Charleston Cougars. The Cougars put each set away early, led by the dominant play of setter Cole Dawley, who recorded 35 assists, 10 digs, eight blocks and four kills. She and Emily Sawin (11 kills) made the All-Tournament Team with Elyse Chubb (nine kills against Stetson) earning the Most Valuable Player award. College of Charleston's tall front line was also a major key to their victory as they outblocked the Hatters 14.5 to 5.0.
Hagberg had 26 assists and five digs for Stetson while senior outside hitter Rebecca Orzechowicz (Miami, Fla.) led the team with nine kills. Sears recorded eight kills and hit a team-high .389 in the match. Freshman outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.) led the Hatters with eight digs and also added four kills.
With just two non-conference matches remaining (both against Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman), the Hatters now turn their attention to Atlantic Sun conference play. Stetson will have no easy task in its league opener when it heads down to Fort Myers to take on defending regular season champions Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
