The Stetson Hatters are set to compete for a national title this weekend at the 2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala.
No. 15 Stetson (22-14) will face No. 2 seed TCU (35-2) Friday afternoon in the first round of the single-elimination national tournament. First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPNU and ESPN+.
The Hatters come in with some momentum, having swept through the ASUN Championship two weeks ago. Pair 1 Karin Zolnercikova and Shae Henson were recently named AVCA All-Americans, Pair 2 Carolina Ferraris and Anete Namike earned ASUN Pair of the Year honors, and Pair 5 Lauren Della and Aleksandra Stadnik were named ASUN Pair of the Tournament. Stetson's starting pairs will also feature Gabriella Bramante and Tori Clement at Pair 3 and Noelle Weintraub and Audrey Gauthier at Pair 4.
The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, have spent most of the year ranked No. 1 in the country in the AVCA poll, and they have suffered just two losses all season to go along with their 35 victories. One of those wins came against Stetson back on March 31 by a 5-0 margin.
"It's going to take a lot of grit," Henson said. "We know we are not a No. 2 team, and that's okay. That's not what we are relying on to win this. It just means we have to work a little bit harder, we have to have a little more enthusiasm. Everything we do has to be raised up a level."
Stetson is accustomed to playing the underdog role in Gulf Shores, and playing it well. In each of their previous three appearances, the Hatters have either upset or nearly upset a higher-ranked opponent. In 2019, it was a 3-1 win over top seed USC, and last season, the Hatters narrowly missed an upset of No. 3 UCLA.
"Even though we were really young last year, I felt like they were prepared," head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "They didn't seem nervous, and they don't seem nervous now. I think there has been a chip on their shoulder the whole year about losing that UCLA match by two points. I think that will help them grind out some really tough points and tough sets this weekend."
Stetson plays a challenging schedule year-in and year-out to prepare for postseason competition.
"I think the toughness of the schedule helps us in this situation where we know every point is going to be really intense," Hernandez said. It's not going to be easy, and these teams aren't going to make a ton of errors and give games away. We know we have to do really well on our side to be competitive."
The Stetson - TCU winner will face the winner of the Stanford - Grand Canyon dual at Noon ET Saturday. That winner will advance to a semifinal dual at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The national championship will be played at Noon ET Sunday. ESPN2 will televise the Saturday duals, and ESPN will broadcast Sunday's championship. ESPN+ will show live coverage from each individual court.
For now, four wins are all that stands between the Hatters and their first national championship in school history. And if history is any indication, come Friday, the Hatters will be ready to compete.
"We just need to play our game, be aggressive, be smart, and fight as a team," said Zolnercikova.
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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