UPDATE: All-Tournament team has been officially announced:

Tournament MVP Stetson – #5 Nyah Molina
Stetson – #12 Sophia Groom
Stetson – #9 Elif Yasar

SIUE - #4 Julia Treichel
 
Mercer – #9 Annie Karle
Mercer – #18 Lillian Beardsley

DELAND, Fla. – Stetson Volleyball capped the weekend with an emphatic pair of victories, completing a sweep of the weekend's opponents without dropping a set.
 
"I think the biggest improvement is everyone played together even better this weekend," head coach Yang Deng said "We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing, which makes for a good mix of younger and older players. So on the volleyball court, it is very important that people connect really well."

The Hatters improved to 8-1 on the season, while Bethune Cookman drops to 0-9 with Mercer falling to 4-5 on the season.

The first set began with a 4-1 lead by Bethune Cookman but quickly turned around with a 6-1 scoring run by Stetson to take the lead, 7-5. As the set continued, both teams stayed neck-and-neck until Stetson ran away with it in a 10-0 scoring run to win the first set 25-16.

SU hit the ground running in the second set scoring the first four points. The Hatters continued this momentum throughout to win set two, 25-16, with the home team scoring the last three points of the frame.

The Hatters took control early in set three with an 11-1 scoring run that made it difficult for Bethune Cookman to gain momentum. Stetson's efforts were too strong for the away team as the Hatters pulled away winning the final set, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.

"We can talk about connections off the court, it's a little easier and we have the baseline of that," Deng said about the team's bonding and growth. "But from last weekend to this weekend, the biggest improvement is people connecting well on the court even better because it is a fast paced game. It's six people in a small square and everybody has to react fast enough to have that connection and trust your teammates to get their job done without being worried about them."

Stetson's stat sheet reflected great all around performances from the first match of the day, Bethune Cookman, with Madilyn Jerald having a season high of 12 digs and Nyah Molina earning her third in a row double-double of the season with 21 assists and 10 digs. Annabella Standish had nine kills and Sophia Groom tallied eight.

Stetson and Mercer both came out strong in the first set staying within three points of one another for more than half the game. Although evenly matched with attack attempts by the home and away teams, Mercer's 222 hitting percentage was no match for Stetson's 353 percentage. The Hatters gained momentum to edge out Mercer 25-20.

In the second set, the heat continued with Mercer and Stetson staying within one point of each other until the Hatters took control with a 7-1 scoring run. The home team finished strong scoring five of the last six points to win set two, 25-15.

Mercer came out swinging in the third set leading the Hatters 6-2 early on, but the home side did fought back and soon took the lead, 15-8, after a 13-2 scoring run. Despite the away team's efforts to close the gap with a 6-0 run near the end of the set, Stetson held on to defeat Mercer in the third set, 25-23, and the match, 3-0.

"It feels really good," sophomore setter Molina said following the final match of the tournament, "I mean we kind of struggled last weekend at FAU and us working together as a team really helped this weekend. Practice really helped us win all nine sets this weekend. We all really talked [during the match] and we all worked together to make a really clean play."

"How the team gels so well together is because of the upperclassmen," Deng said as a takeaway from the tournament. "All the seniors are open-hearted to the younger members and try to understand each other which makes everything a lot easier. The leadership was really good this weekend and has been since the beginning of the season."

The Hatters efforts showed on the stat sheet against Mercer in match two Saturday with sophomore setter Elif Yasar tallying a season-high 18 assists along with five digs and Molina notched 19 assists while registering six digs. Libero Lauren Vargo was the only player from the home team with double digit digs after scoring 13 in tonight's game. Two players had double digit kills with Elena Djokovic adding 10 and Sophia Groom recording 11.

"It is a team sport and this weekend I put Nyah [Molina] in a very tough spot because she's passing, digging, setting, and hitting, It is a very hard skill, but she is doing really well" head coach Yang Deng said highlighting some player performances. "Another person is our freshman middle [blocker] Sophia [Groom], she came in big time and she came in with everything I was hoping she would, like having no fear and going for it. She is doing what is needed for the team and that is really good."

Stetson women's volleyball head to Tampa, Florida for the USF Classic on September 16 and 17 to face the University of South Dakota Friday at 10 a.m., the University of South Florida that evening at 7 p.m., and Cornell Saturday at 10 a.m.

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.