Hatters Seek Third Straight ASUN Beach Championship

Stetson aims for fifth title all-time

2019 ASUN BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WHEN | Thursday-Saturday
WHERE | Cooper Beach Courts (418 E. Minnesota Ave.)
ADMISSION | Free
LIVE VIDEO | ESPN+
LIVE STATS | GoHatters.com/stats
TWITTER | @StetsonBeach
TEXT ALERTS | HatCheck
GAME NOTES | Stetson (PDF)
ASUN BEACH | Championship Page
NEWS-JOURNAL | ASUN Preview

The eighth-ranked Stetson Hatters will look to capture their third straight conference title this weekend at the 2019 ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship at the Cooper Beach Courts.

Stetson (26-8), the No. 1 seed for the tournament, will face the winner of the Coastal Carolina and Austin Peay match at 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon. If the Hatters stay in the winners bracket, they will play a semifinal match at 1 p.m. Friday. The winner-take-all championship match is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

"It's exciting," senior Alexa Richardson said. "We've been working really hard at every practice, every day, and I am really excited to see how we do."

The Hatters have been on a roll of late, having won 10 duals in a row including three against ranked opponents last Friday in Boca Raton. As a result, Stetson moved up two spots in this week's AVCA poll. The Hatters are also eighth in the p1440.com power rankings.

"I think that we are doing a lot of really great things right now," junior Darby Dunn said. "What's been best has been our trust and our communication as a team. I think our chemistry is at an all-time high, and we all work so well together. Every little thing we see our teammates do, we celebrate their successes, and their success motivates our success. I think that it's really awesome to work in such a great system like that."

While the Hatters went undefeated (8-0) against the ASUN South Division, Stetson has only seen one North Division team this season - Austin Peay. The Hatters could potentially match-up against Coastal Carolina or North Alabama for the first time this season, or they could see more familiar faces in UNF and FGCU.

"We have been doing a really good job of taking each match one at a time, and not looking too far ahead," Richardson said. "We just have to focus on what we need to do for that match and execute."

The Hatters are seeking their fifth all-time ASUN Championship, having previously won in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. The tournament will be played on campus at the Cooper Beach Courts. Admission is free.

In addition. all 10 matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Evan Weston, Tom James and Jenna Hassell calling the action. Live scores will be available on GoHatters.com/stats.

Schedule:
Thursday:
Match 1, 8:30 a.m.: No. 4 Coastal Carolina (19-9) vs. No. 5 Austin Peay (15-13)
Match 2, 10:30 a.m.: No. 3 FGCU (14-9) vs. No. 6 North Alabama (10-10)
12:00 p.m. - ASUN Awards Ceremony
Match 3, 1 p.m.: No. 1 Stetson (26-8) vs. Match 1 winner
Match 4, 3 p.m.: No. 2 UNF (19-12) vs. Match 2 winner
5:30 p.m. - Stetson Senior Day Ceremony

Friday:
Match 5, 9 a.m.: Match 1 loser vs. Match 4 loser
Match 6, 11 a.m.: Match 2 loser vs. Match 3 loser
Match 7, 1 p.m.: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Match 8, 3 p.m.: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner

Saturday:
Match 9, 11 a.m.: Match 7 loser vs. Match 8 winner
Match 10, 1 p.m.: Winner-Take-All Championship Match

Home Court Advantage
Stetson will enjoy home court advantage in the ASUN Championship for the third straight year. The Hatters are 64-17 all-time at the Cooper Beach Courts, including 8-1 this season.

School Record
The Hatters need one win to tie and two wins to break the school win streak record of 11 victories in a row, set during the 2016 season.

Streaking in the ASUN
The Hatters have won 34 straight ASUN matches, including postseason play.

vs. Ranked Opponents
Stetson has won a school-record 11 matches against ranked opponents this season, including three wins against Top 10 opponents.

vs. Unranked Opponents
Stetson is 15-0 against unranked opponents this season and has won 59 straight matches against unranked opponents dating back to 2017.

All-Time Record
Stetson Beach is in its eighth season of competition and the Hatters hold an all-time record of 166-69 (.706).

Senior Day
Stetson will honor its six outgoing seniors at a 5:30 p.m. ceremony Thursday night at the Cooper Beach Courts.

Follow the Hatters
For complete coverage of Stetson Beach Volleyball, follow the Hatters on Twitter (@StetsonBeach), Instagram (@StetsonBeachVB) and Facebook (StetsonBeach), and sign up for the HatCheck text messaging system.

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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