Kaylee Oscarson Igniting Red-Hot Hatters

STETSON (7-11, 4-4 ASUN) at UNF (10-13, 3-5 ASUN)
Friday, Oct. 25 • 7:00 p.m. • UNF Arena • Jacksonville, Fla.
GAME LINKS: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter @StetsonVB | HatCheck | Notes (PDF)

STETSON at LIPSCOMB (11-9, 7-2 ASUN)
Sunday, Oct. 27 • 2:00 p.m. ET • Allen Arena • Nashville, Tenn.
GAME LINKS: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter @StetsonVB | HatCheck

Kaylee Oscarson will be the first to admit that her transition from high school to college volleyball didn't go quite as smoothly as she had hoped. With all sorts of new statistics, analytics, and scouting reports being thrown her way, Oscarson felt like she was trying to think about too many things at once.

The coaching staff decided to step in and simplify her focus.

"Sometimes when a freshman comes in and there's an overwhelming amount of information coming from us, they try to think of everything and they try to do everything perfectly, but I think that can put them behind," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said. "So we try to simplify things. We might say, 'For blocking, these are the two options, and for hitting, work on this one thing.' We want to keep it simple and focus on one thing at a time."

Oscarson has responded well to this approach. Over the past four matches, the 6-5 middle is hitting a robust .687 (47-1-67) with three solo blocks and 10 block assists. She earned ASUN Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 14 after posting a season-high 15 kills and an .833 attack percentage in the Hatters' 3-2 win at Liberty.

"I just realized that I don't need to fill my mind up with so much information all at once, and if I just stick to the main points and who to look for and where to put the ball, then that just helps me in the long run," Oscarson said.

Deng says Oscarson's playing style is also having a positive impact on her performance.

"She's energetic, she's fun to play with, and she's always very aggressive," Deng said. "I think that's the best way to do it as a freshman. I tell them so much of their performance depends on their emotions. If you are aggressive and just do what you're supposed to do, your natural athletic ability takes over. She is doing that really well right now."

Oscarson's play has helped spark the Hatters (7-11, 4-4 ASUN), who have won five in a row heading into the second half of the conference schedule. Stetson will play two road matches this weekend, traveling to UNF (10-13, 3-5 ASUN) on Friday and Lipscomb (11-10, 6-2 ASUN) on Sunday. Both contests will be available on ESPN+.

All-Time Series
UNF leads the all-time series 19-9 over Stetson, but the Hatters have won the last three in a row.
Stetson is just 3-23 all-time vs. Lipscomb. The Bisons have won the last 23 in a row.

ASUN Player of the Week
Senior Emily DeStaffino was named ASUN Player of the Week after averaging 14.0 assists and 3.7 digs-per-set to help lead the Hatters to a home weekend sweep. She recorded a 39-assist, 13-dig double-double performance against NJIT on Friday. She then registered 45 assists, nine digs, and one solo block in a 3-0 win over North Alabama Saturday. She also recorded her 1000th career assist in that match.

Win Streak
The Hatters' five-game win streak is the team's longest since 2014. Stetson is hitting .344 as a team over that stretch. A win over UNF would give Stetson its first six-game win streak since 2013.

ASUN Leaders
Overall, Stetson leads the ASUN in digs (15.5 dps) and ranks third in attack pct. (.232) and fourth in blocks (1.94 bps). In ASUN matches, Stetson also leads the league in digs (17.0 dps) and ranks second in attack percentage (.272). Brianna Schmid leads the ASUN with 15 solo blocks.

Milestone
Already a member of the 800-kill, 800-dig club, senior Eva Deisa needs just 17 more digs for 900 in her career ... Brianna Schmid is eight kills shy of 500 for her career.

Clean Up Time
The Hatters sent their game jerseys out for professional cleaning this week after a small fire in the Edmunds Center equipment room covered their uniforms in smoke.

Up Next
Stetson returns home to host Jacksonville on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Emily DeStaffino: S; 5' 10"; Senior

#23 Eva Deisa: OH; 5' 10"; Senior

#2 Brianna Schmid: MB; 6' 1"; Senior

#22 Kaylee Oscarson: MB; 6' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#11 Emily DeStaffino
: 5' 10"; Senior
: S

#23 Eva Deisa
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH

#2 Brianna Schmid
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MB

#22 Kaylee Oscarson
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: MB

Stetson University Athletics

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Kaylee Oscarson Igniting Red-Hot Hatters

Players Mentioned

#11 Emily DeStaffino

#23 Eva Deisa

#2 Brianna Schmid

#22 Kaylee Oscarson

Players Mentioned

#11 Emily DeStaffino

#23 Eva Deisa

#2 Brianna Schmid

#22 Kaylee Oscarson