Stetson Volleyball head coach Tim Loesch was looking for his squad to be a stronger attacking team in 2013. After one match, so far, so good.
The Hatters piled up 62 team kills including 21 from senior Kaley Melville en route to a season-opening 3-1 win over Drake Friday morning at the UniWyo Wyoming Invitational.
Stetson won 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, and 25-23, and the Hatters will face tournament host Wyoming at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Erika White added a career-high 10 kills, including the final two kills of the match with the score tied 23-23 in the fourth set. She also assisted on a key block late in the opening set to help give Stetson an early lead.
Ellen Hawks hit a career-best .458 (13-2-24), Kayla Weller registered a career-high 54 assists, and libero Michelle Kastner picked up a career-high 23 digs. Sand volleyball veteran Julie Bassett recorded seven kills and 11 digs in her indoor debut, while freshman Madison Akins added eight kills and 10 digs.
"I was really proud of Mel in that (first) game, she did everything we needed an outside hitter to do," Stetson head coach Tim Loesch said. "She played a great all-around game. Ellen also hit for a high percentage in the middle. Erika was a nice surprise and she really stepped it up.
"The final point of that game was a pretty long rally," Loesch added. "We made a nice a dig and converted it with a middle attack in transition, and that's something we have been working on in practice. It was great to see it all come together."
Notes: Stetson won its season opener for the first time since 2004 ... Weller's 54 assists was the highest total for a setter since Karla Readshaw's 54 in 2007 ... Melville added 16 digs for her 28th career double-double. It was also her second time over 20 kills in her career ... Stetson's 19 kills in set one was more than it had in any single set in 2012.
