Beach Volleyball April 22, 2017 Athletic Communications

Hatters Take ASUN Beach Opener 4-1 Over UNF

Stetson battles its way to three third-set victories

DeLand, Fla. -- North Florida provided a strong challenge to top-seeded Stetson Saturday, but the Hatters used three third-set victories to defeat the Ospreys 4-1 in the opening round of the 2017 ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship at the Cooper Beach Courts.

Stetson (18-13) advances to face third-seeded FGCU in the winner's bracket semifinal at 9 a.m. Sunday. UNF (13-13) will play an elimination game against Mercer at 11 a.m.

A second elimination game will follow at 1 p.m. before the winner-take-all championship is played at 3 p.m.

"The games were really tight," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "We thought UNF would come out pretty strong. It is a good rivalry for us. We got into some third set situations and I thought we were really patient with what we were doing."

Stetson got on the board first at the 5 seed as Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales won 21-10, 21-8. The pair combined for over 15 aces including a run of three in a row by Perales during one stretch.

"They were really aggressive (serving) and put that pressure on," Hernandez said about the 5 seed. "I don't think they backed off the entire match. Even if they missed a few serves here and there, they kept the pressure on North Florida and did not allow them to get into a rhythm."

At the 4 seed, Tiffany Creamer and Rachel Noble played the first three-set match of the day, surging ahead midway through the final frame to win 15-8. That victory gave Stetson an early 2-0 lead.

"It is really nice to start out with (wins at) the 4s and 5s, and going into that second round what a little bit of that pressure off of us," Hernandez said. "I commend them on starting strong, especially Rach and Tiff. I think they really struggled in the second set, but they brought it back in in the third set. That was a huge win for us."

At the 3 seed, Emily Carroll and Kaylee Anderson fell 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) as the Ospreys closed the gap to 2-1. The suspense continued to build as courts 1 and 2 both went to a third set.

At the 2 seed, Kristin Lind and Darby Dunn took a big lead early in the final frame, then held off a late UNF run to clinch the match 15-13. They also staved off three set points in a pivotal first set win 25-23.

At the 1 seed, Samantha Harris and Maggie Skjelbred won 15-13 in the third set to give Stetson its fourth and final point.

Stetson is now 11-0 against ASUN opponents this year. If the Hatters defeat the Eagles at 9 a.m., they will advance to the 3 p.m. championship.

"We have to focus on Florida Gulf Coast now and hopefully get a break before that next match," Hernandez said.

All matches are streamed live on ESPN3.

Print Friendly Version