Emerson, Ga. -- The top-seeded Stetson beach volleyball team opened the Atlantic Sun Conference championship with a decisive 4-1 victory over fourth-seeded Mercer Friday afternoon at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Ga.

The Hatters were victorious in straight sets at the 1, 3, 4, and 5 seeds to advance to Saturday's A-Sun semifinal vs. Florida Gulf Coast. The match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

"Overall, we did pretty well," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "It was nice to get out there and finish everything in two sets.  Everybody played really well.  Mercer's 2 seed is a very good defensive team, and we struggled a little bit just to side out, but our other seeds were able to stay in control for all the matches.  It was a nice way to start."

Stetson's Vendy Strakova and Sara Putt won their 30th dual match of the season, defeating Mercer's Sophie Peel and Emma Peel 21-12, 21-16.  The A-Sun Pair of the Year improved to 30-2 on the season.

The Bears won 21-19, 21-17 at the 2 seed vs. Stetson's Emily Carroll and Kaylee Anderson.

The Hatters swept the bottom three seeds as Kristin Lind and Tiffany Creamer were victorious at the 3 seed, 21-18, 21-15.

At the 4 seed, Madison Akins and Rachel Noble claimed a 21-18, 21-15 victory.  At the 5 seed, Jamie Walsh and Alexa Richardson extended their win streak to 11 with a 21-14, 21-13 victory.

The winner of Saturday's semifinal will advance directly to Sunday's championship match at 3 p.m.

Notes: The Hatters improved to 12-1 all-time vs. Mercer ... Stetson has won eight of its last nine A-Sun tournament matches ... The Hatters swept FGCU in DeLand earlier this season.