DELAND, Fla. – Hatter volleyball begins another packed week of competition with three matches in five days. Stetson plays at Florida Gulf Coast tonight with Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky coming to the Edmunds Center, Friday and Saturday respectively. This weekend's contest will stream on ESPN+.

"The rescheduling makes it really hectic, but we just need to grind through it," head coach Yang Deng said "That is just like every season though to keep the performance and mentality levels where they need to be. Obviously against Kennesaw, Jacksonville State and the Florida Gulf coast they are all top ranked and tough for three games in a row. Our focus is on our performance. We played really well against Kennesaw and helped us learn against a quality opponent. The mentality has to be different against different opponents, like against FGCU we started good but didn't continue. We have to make sure that we play teams that may be a litter better that we have to be on our best performance all the time. Ultimately, we're glad we play tough teams to prepare us going forward."  

FGCU has been competitive in the top section of the ASUN standings with a 3-0 win over Stetson earlier in the season. A great run of form, including five wins in the last six conference contests, has aided the Eagles in their current fifth-place standing on the table including back-to-back wins over Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State, two of the top teams in the standings. As evidenced by the great form Erin Shomaker was named ASUN Player of the week with Chelsey Lockey earning ASUN setter of the week.

Bellarmine has struggled with ASUN play with a 4-8 conference record combined with a 10-14 overall mark. The knights won their last road match with in-state rival Eastern Kentucky, 3-2. In the last four matches, BU has split the matches winning two over EKU before dropping this past weekend's matches to Jacksonville and North Florida [Both 3-0]. From a statistical standpoint, the Knights get 12.8 kills per set with the attacks flowing through Jayme Scott with 338 kills on the year. Kylie Van Hoy is the only other knight above 150 kills [172] on the season. Emily Arnold [569] and Macie Garrison [312] share setting duties with a combined 881 of 1113 assists. Anna Lococo leads the club in digs with 391, 4.2 per set with Jayda Harris guarding the net with 61 blocks.

Eastern Kentucky started slow in the ASUN but have picked up momentum. The Colonels dropped four in a row before winning its last two matches going over North Florida and Jacksonville both in straight sets. From the stat sheet, EKU uses a balanced attack with both Molly Michalak and Sarah Mitchell notching 274 kills each. As a team, the Colonels get 12.29 kills per set. Chloe Mason [517] and Miya Carmichael [385] share setting responsibility with 902 of 1082 assists. Three Colonels have crossed the 300 mark for digs on the season, Josie Schmitendorf [393] Michalak [323] and Sarah Mitchell [312], all over three per set.

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 (PDF). 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.