Elon, N.C. - The Stetson volleyball team (1-9) suffered losses to Liberty and host Elon on the opening day of the Elon Volleyball Classic on Friday, falling 25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 25-17 to the Flames and 25-22, 25-22, 25-16 to the homestanding Phoenix.  Freshman middle blocker Ellen Hawks (Austin, Texas) finished the day with 12 kills, 13 blocks and a .379 attack percentage.

Stetson showed resiliency throughout the match against Liberty (5-2), but never more clearly than mid-second set, when the Hatters erased a 17-12 deficit with a set-ending 13-3 run to win 25-20.  Ultimately the Flames would prove too much, however, taking away the four-set victory. 

Hawks and junior middle blocker Sam Freeman (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) tied for the team lead with eight kills each; Hawks also had nine blocks and hit .500.  Sophomore setter Kelli Carneal (Fredericksburg, Va.) handed out 30 assists with nine digs and four kills while freshman outside hitter Kaley Melville (New Germany, Minn.) and sophomore libero Monique Russell (Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied 13 and 10 digs, respectively.  Karyl Bacon led Liberty with 16 kills and seven digs while setter Jade Craycraft had 36 assists, six digs and four service aces.

The Hatters had trouble getting much going on offense in the nightcap against a strong Elon team (7-3), losing in straight sets.  Melville had six kills and seven digs while Carneal had 18 assists and five digs.  Russell added nine digs with eight for freshman outside hitter Katie DiGirolamo (Bradenton, Fla.).  Traci Stewart (13 kills) and Sarah Schermerhorn (11 kills) paced the Phoenix; Megan McMahon recorded 41 assists and Ali Deatsch tallied 17 digs.

Stetson concludes the Elon Volleyball Classic tomorrow at 12 p.m. against Northern Illinois.  A link to Live Stats can be found at GoHatters.com; look for match updates on Twitter via @StetsonSID, the official Twitter account of Stetson Athletics.