DeLand, Fla. - Junior setter Kelli Carneal (Fredericksburg, Va.) racked up 38 assists, 10 kills, six blocks and six digs to lead the Stetson volleyball team (1-3) to its first win of the season in Friday's Clarion Classic opener and home opener at the Edmunds Center. It was the first victory at the helm of the Hatters for Head Coach Tim Loesch. Three other Hatters reached 10 or more kills, led by sophomore outside hitter Kaley Melville (New Germany, Minn.) and her 15-kill, 12-dig double-double. Set scores were 31-29, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22.
The Hatters out-hit the Lady Wildcats .202 to .113 on the evening and out-blocked them 13 to eight; total kills narrowly went in Stetson's favor, 54-53. Entering the match with just two service aces in its first three matches, the Hatters aced B-CU five times tonight.
Stetson survived a marathon first set to win 31-29, then used .323 hitting (13 kills, three errors, 31 attacks) to take a 25-21 second set win. The Hatters let a pair of five-point leads in the third set slip away, which allowed B-CU to pull out a 25-22 win, but erased a 6-2 deficit in the fourth stanza with a match-closing 4-1 spurt to earn the 25-22 set victory and get in the win column for the first time in 2011. The Hatters improved to 47-4 all-time against their Volusia County rivals with tonight's win.
Carneal and Melville's connection led the Hatters to the victory as the former hit .444 (10-2-18) and the latter .239 (15-4-46) in the match. Sophomore middle blocker Ellen Hawks (Austin, Texas) and freshman outside hitter Taylor Story (Plano, Texas) knocked down 10 kills apiece with Hawks adding a match-high seven blocks and Story nearing a double-double with nine digs. Junior libero Monique Russell (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the Stetson defensive effort with 19 digs while senior outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.) added 15 digs, six assists and four kills.
The dual attack of Krysta Gardner (21 kills, 20 digs, four blocks) and Janeen Davis (20 kills, 12 digs) did excellent work all night for the Lady Wildcats; setter Frances Rodriguez also recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 14 digs. Jennifer Jimenez (12 digs) and Aria Cormier (six blocks) aided the B-CU effort as well.
In other action from the Clarion Classic, B-CU and Wofford each swept Savannah State three sets to none. The Lady Wildcats won 25-17, 25-19, 25-17 while the Terriers took a 25-7, 25-19, 25-10 win over the Lady Tigers. Action concludes at the tournament tomorrow as Stetson faces Savannah State at 9:00 am, Wofford meets B-CU at 11:00 am and the Hatters match up with the Terriers at 2:00 pm. Live Stats for all matches and Hatter Vision for both Stetson contests are available at GoHatters.com.
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