BOCA RATON, Fla. – Stetson volleyball split its Friday slate at at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena, opening with a gritty four-set victory over Bethune-Cookman before falling to Florida Atlantic in three.
The Hatters (4-7) opened the day with a 24-26, 25-14, 25-17, 29-27 victory over Bethune-Cookman, highlighted by one of the program's most complete performances of the season. After a first-set heartbreak in which Stetson saw a 24-21 lead slip away, the Hatters roared back with a 7-0 start to the second set sparked by four
Xinlei Yang kills and a
Zuzanna Bury ace. With
Nyah Molina directing the attack, Stetson took control of the next two sets, hitting .259 for the match and recording 67 kills, 86 digs and 10 total blocks (18 block assists). The fourth set was a showcase of grit as the Hatters erased a 23-19 deficit and battled point-for-point until
Kayla Balfour put away the clincher at 29-27. Molina delivered a historic 43-assist, 31-dig double-double, the first 40-30 line in program history in the rally-scoring era. Yang finished with 19 kills on .457 hitting and five blocks,
Jenna Simmons added 18 kills and two aces, and Balfour chipped in five block assists.
In the nightcap against host Florida Atlantic, Stetson again showed flashes of high-level play but couldn't sustain it in a 17-25, 15-25, 14-25 defeat. The Hatters clawed back from an early 6-2 hole in the first set to tie at 14-14 behind kills from Bury and Yang and a block from Balfour, but a late FAU service ace swung momentum back to the Owls. In the second frame, Molina sparked a brief rally with a pair of pinpoint sets to
Lilyanna Parker and Bury and a Simmons ace that closed the gap to 6-7 before FAU's serving run pulled away. The third set was another back-and-forth early, with Stetson drawing level at 3-3 and staying within two points at 11-9 after a Rut/Molina block before the Owls closed on a run.
Despite the loss, several Hatters turned in notable performances. Molina tallied 13 assists and 10 digs in three sets; Parker recorded four kills and three blocks, Yang added five kills and three blocks, and
Vitoria Stedile anchored the defense with a team-high 11 digs.
Stetson will be back at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on September 20 at 11 a.m. to take on George Washington.
