Statesboro, Ga. - The Stetson volleyball team dropped to 0-3 on the young season with a pair of losses on Saturday at the Holiday Inn Georgia Southern University Invitational. The Hatters fell 25-18, 25-15, 25-14 to the host Eagles and suffered a hard-fought five-set 14-25, 25-21, 25-13, 15-25, 15-7 loss to Presbyterian in the nightcap. Sophomore outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.) had 16 kills on the day and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Stetson could not get a consistent attack going against Georgia Southern in the early match, getting out-killed 39-23, out-hit .346 to .050 and out-blocked 8 to 2. Ream had eight kills, freshman setter Kelli Carneal (Fredericksburg, Va.) handed out 13 assists and senior libero Anna Becker (McLean, Ill.) collected seven digs. Bethany Sanford, the tournament MVP, notched 11 kills and hit .500 to lead GSU to the victory.
The Hatters got up early on the Blue Hose in the nightcap before dropping the next two sets across the halftime break. A pair of 5-0 bursts in the fourth set enabled Stetson to take the victory and force a winner-take-all fifth stanza, but PC proved too strong. The Blue Hose closed the match with five straight points and needed only one kill to do so.
Junior outside hitter Stephanie Canfield (Panama City, Fla.) shook off a tough weekend to contribute 11 kills and nine digs to the Hatter cause while Carneal turned in a stat sheet-stuffing performance with 29 assists, six kills, six digs, five blocks, two aces and a .308 hitting percentage. Ream tallied eight kills and nine digs with senior middle blocker Laura Boyd (La Crescenta, Calif.) notching eight kills and a career-high eight blocks.
The Hatters host the Holiday Inn Stetson Invitational next weekend at the Edmunds Center; Southern Illinois and Florida A&M will be in town for the event, which starts at 1 p.m. Friday with Stetson facing SIU. The Hatters meet the Rattlers at 7 p.m. Friday evening and take on the Salukis at 7 p.m. Saturday. Live Stats and Bill Topping's Hatter Vision webcast are available for all matches next weekend at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
