Hatters Cruise To 4-1 Win in ASUN Quarterfinal

No 8 Stetson Takes Over NCAA lead in wins

DeLand, Fla. -- Stetson had four seeds win in straight sets in a 4-1 win over Coastal Carolina in the ASUN Quarterfinal Thursday afternoon at the Cooper Beach Courts.

No. 8 Stetson (27-8) advances to face UNF in the winner's bracket semifinal at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

It was the Hatters' 11th victory in a row and their NCAA-leading 27th win of the season. Coastal Carolina fell to 20-10.

"I think we started out well at the 4 and 5 seeds," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "I was glad to see Alexa and Katinka have a really good match for us, because they haven't played too much together."

Alexa Richardson and Katinka Krahn won 21-17, 21-13 at the 4 seed in just their second official match as a pair this season.

"The whole time I felt we were in control and really pushing each other," Richardson said. "We were constantly talking and communicating which helped us in the end."

Meanwhile, Rebecca Ingram and Quinci Birker cruised to a 21-14, 21-16 win at the 5 seed. The duo used an 8-2 run in the first set to set the tone for the rest of the match.

At the 3 seed, Ana Costa and Rachel Noble won 21-17, 21-14 to clinch the match. Costa was making her first appearance in the ASUN Championship.

"I was a little bit nervous coming in, but our team is really confident right now because of how well we have been performing," Costa said.

At the 2 seed, ASUN Pair of the Year Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas had to battle through extra points to win 21-15, 24-22.

At the 1 seed, Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales fell just short in a three-set slugfest, falling 21-17, 12-21, 15-12.

"I would have liked to have gone 5-0, but we told our team that everybody is going to up their level of play this weekend," Hernandez said. "I am glad we could have two set wins at all of other four seeds and start the tournament off well."

The Hatters won 9 of 11 sets on the day and benefited from a strong show of support from their fans.

"With the crowd all around us, we just really feed off that energy," Noble said. "We just love it. Everyone who comes out, they scream and support us, and it just really gets us going. It pushes us to reach out a little bit more and hit a little harder."

Saturday's matches have all been moved forward 90 minutes and will begin at 7:30 a.m. with Austin Peay facing FGCU.

Stetson 4, Coastal Carolina 1
1. Alvis, Sydney/Hardeman, Leah (CCU) def. Carly Perales/Sunniva Helland-Hansen (STET) 21-17, 12-21, 15-12
2. Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (STET) def. Campbell, Lucy/Boyer, Anaiah (CCU) 21-15, 24-22
3. Rachel Noble/Ana Costa (STET) def. Federico, Kate/Gauthier, Tanner (CCU) 21-17, 21-14
4. Katinka Krahn/Alexa Richardson (STET) def. Djuric, Aleksandra/Ladewig, Shelby (CCU) 21-17, 21-13
5. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (STET) def. Nemeth, Anett/Eske, Kalin (CCU) 21-14, 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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