Winning five-set matches is starting to become routine for the Hatters this season.
Stetson won its fourth such match Saturday, rallying for a 3-2 victory (25-14, 21-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-9) over host USC Upstate in an Atlantic Sun Conference contest at the Hodge Center.
Despite trailing 2-1 after three sets, Stetson extended its winning streak to four and improved to 12-6 overall, 4-1 in conference play. The Hatters also stayed undefeated in five-set matches (4-0) and have a 12-3 record in sets four and five combined.
"It says a lot (about our team)," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "We have very high expectations for them. As long as they keep responding, they are going to do great things. I feel like we are very comfortable in fifth sets, so hopefully that is something we can keep in our pocket as we continue through the rest of conference. That will be a very good confidence booster for us if we know we are really good in fifth sets."
McKenna Foster led the team with 15 kills and four aces. Madison Akins posted 12 kills and three aces. Kayla Weller had 49 assists and 15 digs for her eigth double-double of the season. Alexa Drost had 18 digs and Shelby Connors tallied a season-best eight blocks.
"Overall our serving was much better today," Hernandez said. "In the first, fourth, and fifth sets, we were the team that we have to be - one that is very aggressive and finding ways to score."
The Hatters hit .318 in the opening set and cruised to a 25-15 win. USC Upstate (9-12, 0-5), however, evened the match with a 25-21 victory in set No. 2. The Spartans then pushed the Hatters to the brink with 25-19 win in the third set where Stetson hit just -.051.
Stetson came out on fire in the fourth set, building a 6-1 and 12-3 lead. Upstate closed the deficit to just two at 14-12, but the Hatters pulled away late to force the decisive fifth set.
The Spartans led 6-5 in the final frame when a kill by Akins ignited a game-winning 7-0 Stetson run. Alexis Villa had two kills during that stretch while Connors and Weller assisted on a key block.
"I feel like we are in control in fifth sets (this year)," Hernandez said. "I never feel like we are on the back end. Once we get to 8 or 9 we tend to break away."
Villa, who moved to the front row after the third set, had eight kills for the Hatters in the final two frames.
"We put Alexis in the front row in the fourth set because our outsides were struggling a little bit against (Upstate's) right side block. She did a really great job opening up the floor for us, and she brought a lot of energy into those last two sets. I really thought she changed the momentum factor towards the end."
Connors figured in eight of Stetson's 10 blocks in the match. The Hatters also collected eight aces on the afternoon.
Stetson remains in third place in the league standings, one game behind co-leaders FGCU and Lipscomb.
The Hatters return home to face Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb next weekend.
Notes: Stetson swept a two-game conference road trip for the first time since 2000.
