Gulf Shores, Ala. -- It was a historic day for the Stetson sand volleyball program.
The Hatters claimed their first-ever victory in the AVCA national sand championship with a 3-2 win over Georgia State Friday afternoon on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Stetson fell just a few points short of reaching the national final four in falling 3-2 to Florida International later in the afternoon. It was the team's third match of the day. Stetson also fell 5-0 to top-ranked USC Friday morning.
"I am proud of everybody's effort," head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "Hopefully we can leave here knowing that we did everything we could and not feel that we still had something more to do today."
The Hatters (22-6) completed a historic season with a school-record 22 wins and reaching the "final six" in the AVCA championship, outlasting Florida State and Georgia State in the national competition.
"In terms of what this means for our program, it is huge," Hernandez said. "I am so glad that this particular group was able to do that for our program today."
Against the Panthers (18-3) and with all five courts playing simultaneously, Stetson fell behind 1-0 before Julie Bassett and Kaley Melville claimed a 21-16, 21-16 win at the No. 1 seed to tie the match 1-1.
Georgia State regained a 2-1 lead in the match with a narrow 21-19, 21-19 win at the No. 2 seed. The match rested in the hands of the 4 and 5 seeds as each pair went to a decisive third set.
At the No. 4 seed, Stetson's Madison Akins and Kaylee Anderson won 15-6 in the third set to tie the match 2-2. All eyes were focused on court 5 as Claudia Kalin and Madison Tormey clinched the match for the Hatters with a 15-9 win.
"They both went to a third set, and I felt like we were in control the whole time," Hernandez said. "We were being really aggressive and just going after it. You could just feel the momentum. It was a huge team win for us."
"I am just so proud of everyone," Tormey said after the match. "It is everyone's collaborative effort. It's not one seed, as you saw today. We haven't won one in a while, but we pulled it out for the team, and I couldn't be prouder."
The victory advanced Stetson to a late afternoon match against FIU with a berth to the national semifinals on the line. This time Stetson picked up wins at the No. 2 seed from Maren Rygh and Kristin Lind (21-12, 21-12), as well as a hard-fought victory at the No. 3 seed from Savannah Byl and Holly Reschke (21-17, 27-25).
However, the third-seeded Panthers (20-2) took the decisive third set at the 5 seed to escape with the victory.
"I told the team I know it is disappointing, but we battled," Hernandez said. "It just didn't fall our way."
While the Hatters have been eliminated from the team championship, Melville and Bassett will compete in the national pairs championship on Sunday. The pair will learn their seed and first-round opponent on Saturday.
