DeLand, Fla. - The Stetson volleyball team (1-15, 0-9 Atlantic Sun) played its crispest match of the season, leading to season and career highs for several players, but still came out on the wrong end of a 25-21, 18-25, 25-14, 27-25 home loss to conference rival Kennesaw State (9-7, 4-5 A-Sun) Thursday evening at the Edmunds Center. Freshman setter Kelli Carneal (Fredericksburg, Va.) racked up career highs in assists (37) and digs (17), adding eight kills. Junior outside hitter Stephanie Canfield (Panama City, Fla.) led all players in the match with a season-high 12 kills along with a season-high nine digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.) hit the floor hard all night, collecting a career-high 12 digs while also slamming a season-best nine kills. Senior right side Sarah Sears (Ashburn, Va.) enjoyed her finest statistical effort of the season as well, coming up with eight digs, six kills and two service aces. The final Hatter to reach a season high against KSU was sophomore middle blocker Sam Freeman (Gulf Breeze, Fla.), who notched seven kills and led Stetson in hitting percentage at a .333 rate.
Senior libero Anna Becker (McLean, Ill.) recorded 14 digs while senior middle blocker Laura Boyd (La Crescenta, Calif.) totaled six blocks and five kills. Sears took the court for the 97th time as a Hatter tonight, moving her past Michelle Clonan '03 into sole possession of seventh place on the program's all-time list. She is on pace for her record-setting 107th match played when the Hatters re-match with Kennesaw State in Georgia on November 7.
The Hatters and Owls traded set victories before halftime, but it was Kennesaw State that came out of the intermission the hottest with a dominating 25-14 victory in the third set. That stanza set the stage for a thrilling fourth set that featured both teams rallying from set point to tie and take the lead. Stetson led 21-16 before surrendering a 5-0 run to tie the set; that spurt extended to 8-2 and had the Hatters facing defeat, but they rallied to tie the score and then go ahead 25-24 and serve for the chance to go to Set 5. It would be the Owls that got the last word, however, with a match-clinching 3-0 streak, finished off with a block from Sabrita Gulley and Holly Knight.
Callie Churchwell and Asjia Stokes led the KSU offense with 11 kills apiece; Churchwell added seven blocks and hit .875 with no errors on the night. Rachael Albright (23 assists, 13 digs, seven kills) and Gulley (10 kills, 10 digs) reached double-double status with other top stat lines coming from Ginny Frederick (20 assists), Selina O'Leary (18 digs) and Chelsey Denesha (15 digs, nine assists, eight kills).
The Hatters are back in action Saturday at the Edmunds Center with a 1 p.m. A-Sun match against Mercer. Live Stats and Bill Topping's Hatter Vision webcast are available online at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
