Hatters Sweep JU To Advance to Sunday's Semifinal

DeLand, Fla. -- Although the 1, 2, and 3 seeds battled through a steady downpour, top-seeded Stetson cruised to a 5-0 victory over fifth-seeded Jacksonville Saturday afternoon in the first round of the ASUN Championship at the Cooper Beach Courts.

The Hatters (28-8) won all 10 sets against the Dolphins and advanced to Sunday's 9 a.m. semifinal against UNF.

Stetson tied a school-record with its 28th dual victory of the season.

"I thought we did really well," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "I was really happy to see the 4s and the 5s come out so strong. I think that's the best I have seen Bec and Q play. They were really strong and really aggressive.

"Then we had a nice little downpour and I thought we dealt with it pretty well," Hernandez added. "I'm glad we could finish it in straight sets. I thought our serving and defense was really solid, consistent and strong, which we have been focusing on a lot this week. We have to turn around and get ready for UNF in the morning."

Rebecca Ingram and Quinci Birker tallied the first point of the match with a 21-11, 21-16 at the 5 seed. Julie Varga and Lauren Durham quickly followed with a 21-16, 21-10 win at the 4 seed.

Shortly after the second wave began play, the rains came to the Cooper Beach Courts. Despite the quickly changing weather, however, the Hatters made the most of a challenging situation.

"I feel like we had more fun than we have had all season," Carly Perales said. "I felt like we capitalized on a lot of things in the rain most people wouldn't."

Perales and Sunniva Helland-Hansen clinched the match with a 21-9, 21-14 win at 2 seed. It was their 30th dual win of the season.

"It was real different to not be able to hand set, because we hand set about 90 percent of the time," Helland-Hansen said. "It was different but it worked out real well."

At the 3 seed, Samantha Harris and Rachel Noble won 21-13, 21-16 as Harris claimed her 50th career victory.

At the 1 seed, Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas rallied from an early deficit to win 22-20, 21-13. It was also their 30th dual win of the season.

The Hatters have now won 24 straight matches against ASUN opponents, including all 11 this season. FGCU and Jacksonville will meet in the loser's bracket semifinal.

The championship match is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday.

Stetson 5, Jacksonville 0

1. Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (STET) def. Morgan Dees/Katie Krawczyk (JU) 22-20, 21-13

2. Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Carly Perales (STET) def. Mallory Mattingly/Lauren Petersen (JU) 21-9, 21-14

3. Rachel Noble/Samantha Harris (STET) def. Mackenzie Swan/Cristina Finan (JU) 21-13, 21-16

4. Lauren Durham/Julie Varga (STET) def. Shaylee Befus/Bethany Salapek (JU) 21-16, 21-10

5. Quinci Birker/Rebecca Ingram (STET) def. Savannah Siegrist/Shelby Babowicz (JU) 21-11, 21-16

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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