Charleston, S.C. -- The Stetson volleyball team swept North Carolina A&T 3-0 and defeated The Citadel 3-1 Saturday afternoon to capture The Citadel Invitational title in convincing fashion.
The Hatters won all three matches and nine of the 11 sets played during the two-day tournament, and at 5-1, the team is off to its best start in school history.
Junior Alexa Drost, sophomore Madison Akins, and freshman Shelby Connors were each named to the all-tournament team. Drost picked up 41 digs from her libero position, Akins racked up 34 kills and 16 digs, while Connors notched 34 kills and eight blocks during the team's three matches.
"We knew what Shelby was capable of doing and I'm glad this week she really matured very quickly," head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "She was a big offensive strut in the middle and gave the pin hitters some room to breathe.
"Maddie really stepped up this weekend," Hernandez continued. "Her serving was huge for us. We had some really good moments during the Citadel game where we just needed to get a little bit of a lead, and she was the server that pushed us forward. Alexa had an awesome weekend as well. She was just all over the place with passing and defense and covering our hitters."
Saturday, Stetson defeated North Carolina A&T 25-16, 25-20, 27-25 and The Citadel 25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15.
Against North Carolina A&T (0-6), the Hatters used an 8-2 run midway through the first set to break open a close game. In the second set, the Hatters trailed by two, 14-12, but a pair of blocks ignited a short 4-0 run giving Stetson a lead it would not relinquish.
The third set proved to be the most challenging one as the Aggies jumped out to a 15-10 lead, forcing Stetson to call timeout. The Hatters erupted out of the break, scoring three straight and eight of the next nine points to take an 18-16 lead. North Carolina A&T would stave off two match points before back-to-back kills gave Stetson the victory.
Akins led the way with 14 kills, while Kayla Weller registered 28 assists, nine digs, and three blocks. Drost picked up a team-high 13 digs as the libero.
Stetson hit just .127 for the match, but recorded 52 digs and six blocks.
Against The Citadel (2-3), Stetson went on an 8-0 run behind the serve of Akins to break open the first set. Despite leading 19-13 in the second set, the Hatters had to hold off the Bulldogs late to post a two-point win.
The Citadel cut Stetson's lead to 2-1 with a three-point win in the third set, but the Hatters dominated the fourth set, which included a pair of 6-0 runs with Akins serving.
For the match, Stetson scored 25 of its 97 points while Akins was serving.
Foster and Connors led the team with 14 kills and four blocks apiece. Weller recorded 45 assists and Drost collected 18 digs.
"We saw a lot of good stuff this weekend," Hernandez said. "I'm glad to see our freshman are doing good things. Hopefully we can keep getting better this week and have another good weekend."
The Hatters will return to Charleston, S.C. next weekend to participate in the CofC Classic.
Notes: The Hatters welcomed back preseason all-conference selection Tiffany Creamer to the line-up Saturday. Creamer had missed the first four matches of the season due to injury ... Kristin Lind saw her first action of the season this weekend and came away with five kills in the two matches on Saturday ... Stetson volleyball records date back to the 1980 season.
