Beach Volleyball May 03, 2022 Athletics Communications

Hatters set for NCAA First Round vs No. 3 UCLA

Gulf Shores, Ala. -- The Stetson University beach volleyball squad is set to take on the No. 3-ranked UCLA Bruins in the first round of the 2022 NC Beach Volleyball Championship Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. EST at Gulf Place Beach.

The Hatters earned the second ever automatic qualifying bid after defeating FGCU 3-0 in the ASUN Championship back on April 25. Stetson went 7-0 in the ASUN conference tournament, going 5-0 in pool play before defeating North Florida 3-0 in the Semifinal match anf FGCU in the championsip.

Stetson was tabbed as a 14 seed while the Bruins earned an at-large bid and a No. 3 seed in the 2022 tournament. This is a single elimination dual and will be televised live on ESPNU. The winner will move on and be placed in the double-elimination bracket and will face the winner of sixth-seeded LSU (30-10) and 11th-seeded California (26-13) on Friday, May 6 at Noon CT/1 p.m. EST on ESPNU.

This is Stetson's third NCAA championship appearance. The Hatters last time in Gulf Shores came in 2019 as Stetson was a No. 8 seed and upset No. 1-seeded USC in the first dual of the tournament. The Hatters then advanced and fell 3-2 to fifth-seeded LSU and 3-0 to seventh-seeded Hawaii.

Stetson's No.1 pair of Shae Henson and Kylie Neuschaeferova became the program's fourth pair to be named AVCA All-Americans as the pair earned second-team All-America honors. The pair recorded a 24-12 overall record and went 7-2 against ASUN opponents before they continued their dominance in the ASUN Conference Championship going 5-0 in pool play and helping the Hatters to their sixth league title in program history. The duo earned three ASUN Pair of the Week honors, the most of any pair in the league, and had eight wins over AVCA Top-20 opponents. The pair tallied wins over No. 2 TCU, No. 4 FSU, No. 10 FAU, and two wins over No. 18 South Carolina. Henson was recognized on the preseason all-conference team and the all-academic team as the pair went on to earn ASUN first-team honors while Neuschaeferova was named ASUN Freshman of the Year.

Stetson's No. 2 pair of Carolina Ferraris and Anete Namike joined Henson and Neuschaeferova on the all-conference first-team as the pair became the 19th pair to earn first-team honors. Ferraris and Namike tallied 20 wins on the year, with almost half coming against ranked opponents. Like Neuschaeferova and Henson, the pair knocked off No. 2 TCU, No. 4 FSU, topped No. 18 South Carolina twice, and No. 10 Long Beach State. Namike also joined Neuschaeferova on the ASUN all-freshman team.

Stetson looks to extend their eight-dual win streak on Wednesday and end a three-dual losing streak to the Bruins. The two programs last met on March 29, 2019, at the FIU Surf-N-Turf Invitational as the Hatters were on the wrong side of a 5-0 decision.

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.

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