Hatters Split in Season Opener at Stetson Spring Fling

News-Journal Feature

DeLand, Fla. -- The No. 15 Stetson beach volleyball team opened the 2018 season with a 5-0 win over Eckerd Friday morning at the Cooper Beach Courts. The Hatters fell 3-2 to No. 12 Georgia State in the afternoon.

The Hatters swept the Tritons at all five seeds, winning 2-0 at each court.

Against the Panthers, Stetson fell behind 2-0, then began to chip away at the lead. At the 2 seed, Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas posted a 21-15, 21-16 win to cut the deficit to 2-1. The 1 and 3 seeds each went to a third set, where GSU won 15-11 on court 3 to clinch the match. At the 1 seed, Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales rallied for a 16-21, 21-16, 19-17 victory.

"I thought we played well this morning. We were a little more consistent," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "This afternoon, I was just disappointed. I thought we had a lot of unforced errors, which unfortunately you can't do against ranked opponents. I thought our 1s and our 2s did really well. I was glad to see Carly and Sunni get a win, but essentially we have to do better in the first round. It is hard to go into the second round down 0-2."

The Hatters will host No. 8 South Carolina and No. 4 Florida State on Saturday.

Stetson 5, Eckerd 0

1. Carly Perales/S. Helland-Hansen (STET) def. Mackenzie Redner/Savanna Cary (EC) 21-12, 21-15

2. Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (STET) def. Paula Hoffmann/Kaitlyn Sibson (EC) 21-18, 21-16

3. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (STET) def. Madison Whiting/Arielle Erillo (EC) 21-17, 21-17

4. Rachel Noble/Samantha Harris (STET) def. Rachel Cornatzer/Stephanie Bogda (EC) 21-10, 21-8

5. Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (STET) def. Kali Boatwright/Jordan Duffy (EC) 21-9, 21-10

Ext. Julie Varga/Lauren Durham (STET) def. Fernanda Reis/Samantha Bevilacqua (EC) 21-14, 21-8

Georgia State 3, Stetson 2

1. Carly Perales/S. Helland-Hansen (STET) def. Tiffany Creamer/Brooke Weiner (GSU) 16-21, 21-16, 19-17

2. Sammee Thomas/Darby Dunn (STET) def. Ashley McGinn/Allie Elson (GSU) 21-15, 21-16

3. Olivia Stasevich/Georgia Johnson (GSU) def. Quinci Birker/Rebecca Ingram (STET) 23-25, 21-15, 15-11

4. Eden Hawes/Ashley Bauchert (GSU) def. Samantha Harris/Rachel Noble (STET) 25-23, 9-21, 15-13

5. Kate Novack/Amie Held (GSU) def. Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (STET) 21-17, 21-17

Ext. Julie Varga/Lauren Durham (STET) def. Meagan McCall/Mattie Johnson (GSU) 21-12, 21-14

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.

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