The Hatters accomplished many things during their three weeks of preseason training, but perhaps nothing more valuable than building a strong team chemistry.  Senior co-captains Marissa Salazar and Madison Akins said the players have all enjoyed getting a chance to bond and come together as a team.

“It is really refreshing to have this feeling of unity,” Salazar said.  ”It is not tangible, but it feels like it is.  When you walk in the gym, everyone just has a positive attitude.  Everyone is always ready to play everyday.”

“Our team dynamic is really strong,” Akins said.  “I think we all have the same understanding of what we need to do to get where we want to be.  We are all on the same page.  Everyone is just working hard and going after it.  It's fun volleyball right now.”

One of the factors helping foster team comraderie is the strong communication among the players, both on and off the court.

“With the (large) incoming class, we have had to rework the way we communicate with each other,” Salazar said.  “I think our communication is getting better and better every day.  It is one of those things where in the middle of practice we can stop and say this is what we need to do, and we see that change happening a lot faster than we did in the past."

The Hatters know they have depth throughout the roster, but now they will get a chance to see how they match-up against other opponents as the season gets underway.

“We are all confident in each other as players,” Akins said.  “We have so many strengths on the team. We have loved the preseason so far, but getting to play somebody else is going to show us what we need work on so we can go into conference strong.”

The Hatters will open the 2016 campaign at the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla.  Stetson will face Kent State (20-10 in 2015) in the season opener at 10:00 a.m. Friday, followed by a 5:30 p.m. match against Stony Brook (12-19).  The Hatters will then square off against tournament host UCF (15-17) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

“I am looking forward to seeing some big competition this weekend,” Salazar said.  “It is a cool way to start out the season.  Really, I just want to see who we are when faced with a challenge and how we step up to that. I do believe that we will step up.  If we need those quick fixes, I think we will be able to get those done.”

Live stats for all tournament matches will be available through the UCF website.  UCF will also be providing a subscription-based live video stream of all its matches, including Saturday's contest vs. Stetson.