DELAND, Fla. – Hatter volleyball has a tough stretch of three home matches against ASUN opposition. The Hatters start the stretch with Florida Gulf Coast tonight, then move on to face Liberty Friday and Queens on Saturday. All games will stream on ESPN+, links on the schedule page and within this article.

"Last weekend was tough travel for us, we got home around four in the morning," head coach Yang Deng said "I think the day off helped with rest and we know the challenges that are ahead of us. That's why today [Tuesday] we did a lot serving and passing and basic work. They are looking forward to playing at home though after the long weekend on the road. Mentality wise, we just need to stay focused on our side of the net a little bit more, and working on the details, the first and second touches so a quality ball comes to the hitters for more offense."

The necessity for focus will be enormous as FGCU sits one game above the Hatters in the ASUN standings, The make-up match was rescheduled from a weekend home-and-home series that got reschedule by Hurricane Ian's interference. The pair of teams are the only two in the league that have not played eight matches. The first make-up, tonight, will leave them with a game in hand on the rest of the league to be played at FGCU later in the season.

For tonight, SU will contend with two-time player of the week Erin Shomaker, who leads the Eagle attack with 280 kills on the year, registering above four per set. Lily Felts, Skylar English and Lauren Clark average over two kills per set. The offense flows through Chelsey Lockey who has 724 of the team's 861 assists. Defensively, the Eagles average 1.93 blocks per set, with Kortney Reynolds notching .94 per set. Juliana Lentz has 34 blocks to pace the squad. Dana Axner, Lockey and Shomaker have registered the most digs, with Axner snagging 309 on the season.

Liberty makes the trip South, playing the Hatters Friday at 6 p.m., as the Flames come in one game back of the top ASUN spot, currently held by Kennesaw State. LU has won seven of its last night, with the two dropped contest coming at the hands of EKU in five sets and Jacksonville State in five sets.
Three members of the Flames' squad have notched over 200 kills, Lydia Burts Kate Phillips and Trinity Watts. Those three, joined by Kamryn Bacus, are averaging over 2.5 kills per set. The offense flows through Delaney Dilfer who has 850 of the squad's 982 assists. LU is blocking 2.37 times per set with Burts [89] and Watts [73] leading the pack. Five players have hit triple digits for digs on the year.

Queens has struggled with the transition from division two to D I volleyball but is coming off a five-set ASUN win over Jacksonville last time out, finding some footing in the league. The Royals struggle on the road with a 1-7 mark but will also be facing an SU team playing its third match in four days; QU will be its second in two days after facing FGCU on Friday.

The offense flows through Alleigh Johnson who has 245 kills on the season with 3.36 kills per set. QU rotates their setters with Kendall Buish starting and Jaianna Bouarouy in reserve. Buish has 379 assists with Bouaroury registering 253, both over five per set, of the team's 757 total. Anna Law, Hallie Brown and Abbey Criser have over 30 blocks on the year as QU records 1.7 blocks per set. Jesse George [255] and Jordyn Johnson [217] have over one-third of the team's 1121 digs.

"I think we are mostly just working on staying poised," sophomore outside hitter Leilani Vitale said about the team's focus entering the stretch of matches. "We want to stay fresh but also focused on the game and what we're doing. I think we all know what we need to do, we're capable of it, so it's a matter of doing it. Overall, I am looking forward to having fun, with this team especially. This is one of the best teams I've ever played with, so I would say the connections we have lead to a lot of fun. We obviously want to win too, but having fun is important too."

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit  . Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.