Beach Volleyball April 12, 2019 Athletic Communications

Hatters Topple Three Ranked Opponents in Dramatic Fashion

Stetson extends win streak to 10

Boca Raton, Fla. -- The Stetson beach volleyball team delivered a trio of 3-2, come-from-behind victories over Top 20 opponents Friday at the FAU Beach Volleyball Complex.

The 10th-ranked Hatters sandwiched an upset victory over No. 8 FIU (14-10) between two wins over No. 17 Florida Atlantic (11-13) to improve to 26-8 on the season.

It was the first time in school history the Hatters have defeated three ranked teams on the same day.

"Obviously I am very happy with our performance," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "We really wanted to play this weekend. We knew it was important to try and do a little bit more before we got to the ASUN tournament. It was three good wins on a tough day."

Stetson twice trailed FAU 2-1 and fell behind 2-0 to FIU. The Hatters fought back each time, eventually clinching each match in a decisive third set. Two of the clinchers came from Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales at the 1 seed, who went 3-0 on the day.

"I think that we had a lot of different pairs step up and a lot of wins in different places," Hernandez said. "I think our 1s were really, really strong for us today. They were really consistent in getting that win for us at the top."

In the morning match against FAU, four of the five seeds went the distance. The Hatters got a 2-0 win from Quinci Birker and Rebecca Ingram and the 5 seed and a 2-1 win from Rachel Noble and Ana Costa at the 3 seed in a contest that was tied 2-2.

In the decisive dual at the 1 seed, Helland-Hansen and Perales rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the third set to win 15-10. Perales served an ace on match point.

After falling behind 2-0 to FIU in the second match, the Hatters rallied for wins at the top 3 seeds to earn their third Top 10 win of the year. Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas had the clincher at the 2 seed with a 15-10 win in the third set.

"After we lost the first two seeds, our 1s, 2s and 3s got together and they knew they had to pull it out," Hernandez said. "They really stayed focused on their own match and not what was going on. We have lost so many tight games to FIU the past couple of years, it was really nice to finally get one."

In the afternoon match against FAU, Alexa Richardson and Katinka Krahn got the Hatters on the board with a 2-0 win at the 4 seed. The Owls bounced back with wins at the 3 and 5 seeds to take a 2-1 lead. FAU also won the first set at the 1 seed.

The Hatters fought back once again as Thomas and Dunn won 2-0 at the 2 seed to tie the match 2-2. At the 1 seed, Helland-Hansen and Perales staved off two match points in the second set, then came through with a 16-14 win in the third set to seal the victory.

Stetson has now won 10 duals in a row and have defeated 11 ranked opponents this season. The Hatters will find out Sunday their seeding and the full bracket for next week's ASUN Championship in DeLand.

Match 1: Stetson 3, FAU 2
1. Carly Perales/Sunniva Helland-Hansen (STET) def. Nicole Grant/Amanda Silva (FAU) 21-17, 17-21, 15-10
2. Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris (FAU) def. Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (STET) 16-21, 21-17, 15-12
3. Rachel Noble/Ana Costa (STET) def. Jillenne Cangelosi/Megan Mcgrath (FAU) 21-17, 16-21, 15-12
4. Savannah Pesante/Sam Gott (FAU) def. Yasmin Kuck/Alexa Richardson (STET) 21-8, 21-23, 15-11
5. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (STET) def. Kaila Dorish/Kristi Tekavec (FAU) 21-10, 21-14
Ext. Carly Scarborough/Nicole Navarro (FAU) def. Jae-Lyn Visscher/Katinka Krahn (STET) 21-10, 21-11

Match 2: Stetson 3, FIU 2
1. Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Carly Perales (STET) def. BIANCHIN, Margherita/FRASCA, Federica (FIU) 21-11, 23-21
2. Sammee Thomas/Darby Dunn (STET) def. KLINGER, Ronja/KLINGER, Dorina (FIU) 11-21, 21-17, 15-10
3. Ana Costa/Rachel Noble (STET) def. PETRANOVIC, Nina/FRIESEN, Katie (FIU) 21-9, 21-13
4. HUGHES, Abbie/DENNEY, Ali (FIU) def. Julie Varga/Samantha Harris (STET) 21-15, 21-16
5. BERNIER, Lina/ZEMBYLA. Erika (FIU) def. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (STET) 21-19, 21-12
Ext. Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (STET) def. THELLE, Helene/BESTERFIELD, Madison (FIU) 21-14, 10-21, 15-10

Match 3: Stetson 3, FAU 2
1. Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Carly Perales (STET) def. Amanda Silva/Nicole Grant (FAU) 16-21, 23-21, 16-14
2. Sammee Thomas/Darby Dunn (STET) def. Carly Scarborough/Nicole Navarro (FAU) 21-12, 21-11
3. Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris (FAU) def. Rachel Noble/Ana Costa (STET) 21-19, 21-18
4. Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (STET) def. Megan Mcgrath/Jillenne Cangelosi (FAU) 22-20, 21-18
5. Sam Gott/Savannah Pesante (FAU) def. Quinci Birker/Rebecca Ingram (STET) 12-21, 21-16, 15-13
Ext. Julia Lewkowicz/Ashlan Cunningham (FAU) def. Julie Varga/Jae-Lyn Visscher (STET) 21-15, 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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