DELAND, Fla. – Hatter volleyball faces a couple tests with Austin Peay and Lipscomb making the trip to DeLand and will face the Hatters in the Edmunds Center Friday and Sunday, respectively. Both matches will be live streamed on Hattervision YouTube.
 
"They are both challenging teams and good teams to play against," head coach Yang Deng said "All of us are excited to play at home, especially for the conference games. We still have to continue to learn and take care of our side of the net, learning how to play our game the best. I think we just have to focus more on what we can control."
 
"Obviously rescheduling the FGCU games, home and away, that gets crunched into an already tight schedule," Deng said about the layoff from Hurricane Ian. "That will be challenging, but to have a weekend off helps with players with small injuries get a break."
 
Austin Peay enters the contest at 9-6 overall after splitting its first pair of ASUN Conference matches. The Governors have notched wins over Bellarmine and Jacksonville, while dropping matches against North Florida and Eastern Kentucky. Prior to starting ASUN play, AP had won five of its last six with the lone blemish coming against #21 Western Kentucky. The offense flows through Mikayla Powell for the Governors, as she paces the squad with 180 kills; the mark sits 11th in the ASUN and is 52 more than the second on the club. Defensively, Powell and Maggie Keenan have registered just below triple digits in blocks, 98 combined, through 15 matches.
 
Lipscomb will head to DeLand Sunday after playing FGCU but will enter the weekend at 6-9. The Bisons sit at 3-1 in ASUN matches, winning their first three dropping only one set before Jacksonville knocked off LU in five sets. Prior to entering conference play, Lipscomb lost four straight but against some of the best competition in the country, losing to #4 Louisville, #23 Kansas and UCF, which were receiving top 25 votes. Overall, LU has faced six teams that were either ranked or receiving votes at the time of competition. Jada DiVita was named Freshman of the week after the first pair of ASUN matches, both LU wins. The Bison have four players with triple digits in kills, with the aforementioned DiVita as one of the four. Defensively, Delaney Smith has registered over 200 digs in 15 matches played.

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 GoHatters.com/HATS. 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.