Hatters Grab Two Top 20 Wins on Sunday

Stetson goes 4-0 at the Gamecock Grand Slam

Columbia S.C. -- The Stetson beach volleyball team secured two wins against Top 20 opponents Sunday, defeating No. 18 Georgia State and No. 10 South Carolina by identical 4-1 scores at USC's Wheeler Beach.

The 12th-ranked Hatters (9-3) went a perfect 4-0 over the weekend at the Gamecock Grand Slam and earned their second Top 10 victory of the season.

Stetson consistently came through in clutch situations Sunday, going 6-0 in sets that were decided in extra points.

"I am very happy with our performance," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "We have really been focusing on finishing tight sets and cleaning up some small details. There were so many close sets today where we just pulled it out. We were really confident in those moments."

All five seeds won at least three matches over the weekend, while the 1s and 5s went a perfect 4-0.

"Overall across the board everybody contributed at some point during our matches," Hernandez said. "I think we are playing strong enough to where we are not just relying on a couple of seeds to get the job done. All of our seeds are contributing which is nice to see."

Against South Carolina (9-6), Stetson got off to a quick start as Rebecca Ingram and Quinci Birker won 21-15, 21-9 at the 5 seed. The pair improved to 10-1 on the season and extended their win streak to eight in a row.

At the 4 seed, Julie Varga and Samantha Harris battled hard through three sets before coming away with a 24-22, 19-21, 15-12 victory to give Stetson a 2-0 lead.

USC notched their first point with a 21-12, 21-14 win at the 2 seed.

After taking the first set 21-13, Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales fell behind 21-20 in set two before surging to a 23-21 match-clinching victory.

"Carly and Sunni have really been working on staying calm in those moments and making smart plays, things that have been working for them the whole match," Hernandez said. "I think they were really strong at that point and I am really glad they finished it out. It was a huge win for them."

Despite dropping the first set, Ana Costa and Rachel Noble kept battling at the 3 seed. The pair won 23-21 in set 2 and 18-16 in set 3 to give the Hatters their fourth point and final point of the match.

Against Georgia State, the Hatters fell behind briefly when the Panthers won 2-0 at the 4 seed. The Hatters evened the score at the 5 seed as Ingram and Birker won 21-16, 21-16.

With the match tied 1-1, Stetson went to work at the top three seeds. On court 2, Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas breezed to a 21-11 first set win, while courts 1 and 3 had to battle into extra points to secure set 1 wins.

At the 3 seed, Costa and Noble won 22-20, 21-16 to give Stetson its second point. Thomas and Dunn clinched the match with a 21-11, 21-19 win on court 2, while Helland-Hansen and Perales won 25-23, 21-14 to complete the 4-1 victory.

The Hatters will return home to face No. 16 Florida Atlantic and Southeastern University on Tuesday.

Notes:

The Hatters won 16 of 22 sets on the day
The Hatters now have five Top 20 wins for the first time since 2016
The last time Stetson defeated a Top 10 team on its home sand was in 2017 at Wheeler Beach (#9 South Carolina)
The last time Stetson defeated two Top 20 teams on the same day was also at Wheeler Beach in 2017 (#9 Georgia State, #9 South Carolina)
Stetson is 36-6 in its last 42 duals

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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