DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Stetson volleyball earned a 3-0 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Friday at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium, winning by set scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-22. The Hatters improved to 2-2 on the season, while the Wildcats fell to 1-3.
Stetson finished with nine service aces and just two service errors while both teams recorded 39 kills. The Hatters hit .189 for the match compared to .157 for Bethune-Cookman and committed three fewer attack errors.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set after
Lelia Fitz's kill, but Stetson responded with five straight points.
Andrea Diaz Dominguez added a kill,
Jannelize Perez followed with an ace and
Sofia Torcello and Fitz teamed up for a block to give the Hatters a 6-5 advantage. After Bethune-Cookman tied the set at 6-6, Diaz Dominguez added two more kills around a
Maia Pou ace as Stetson moved ahead 9-6.
Bethune-Cookman later scored five straight to turn a 13-9 deficit into a 14-13 lead, but Diaz Dominguez tied the set with another kill before
Kayla Balfour and Torcello combined for a block to put Stetson back in front. The Hatters maintained their advantage down the stretch, getting service aces from Perez and Diaz Dominguez before an Ozaeta-Balfour block gave Stetson set point.
Maria Ozaeta then closed out the 25-22 victory with a kill from
Vanessa Shevchenko.
Stetson carried the momentum into the second set as Diaz Dominguez opened the frame with a kill from Shevchenko. Fitz later gave the Hatters a 4-2 lead with a kill, but Bethune-Cookman responded with an 8-1 run to take a 10-5 advantage behind three kills, an ace from Alaya Rhodes and several Stetson attack errors.
The Hatters quickly erased the deficit. Torcello contributed a kill and an ace before consecutive Balfour kills from Shevchenko pulled Stetson even at 11-11.
Karsu Bayraktar tied the set again at 12-12, and Balfour and Fitz followed with a block to give the Hatters a 13-12 lead. After the Wildcats tied the set one final time at 13-13, Stetson scored four straight points, including a Fitz kill, to take control at 17-13.
Bethune-Cookman trimmed the lead to 19-18 behind a Rhodes kill and ace, but Bayraktar answered with kills at 20-18, 23-19 and 25-20 to give the Hatters a 2-0 lead.
Bethune-Cookman took an early 2-1 lead in the third set before Stetson won six of the next seven points. Bayraktar served an ace during the run, while Fitz and Diaz Dominguez added kills to help the Hatters take a 7-3 lead. The Wildcats battled back to within one at 7-6 and later tied the set at 9-9, but Shevchenko's kill and consecutive Torcello aces pushed Stetson back in front 12-9.
A Balfour kill, Bayraktar kill and another Bayraktar ace helped the Hatters build their largest lead of the set at 17-11. Bethune-Cookman answered with four straight points, but Stetson maintained control and held a 20-16 advantage following a Diaz Dominguez kill and a Sydnee Rodriguez attack error.
The Wildcats rallied once again, tying the set at 20-20 behind kills from Alaya Rhodes and Laura Lino dos Santos and consecutive Rhodes aces. A Lino dos Santos attack error put Stetson back in front, and Shevchenko and Bayraktar combined for three straight kills to bring the Hatters to match point at 24-20. After Bethune-Cookman scored twice, Bayraktar finished the match with a kill from Shevchenko to complete the 25-22 set victory and the 3-0 sweep.
"We played hard, but we weren't as clean as we would have liked," said Head Coach
Yang Deng. "It was good to see players come in and contribute. It's another step for our team to practice, get players comfortable in their roles and continue building chemistry. Karsu played really well, and so did both middles. It was a full-team effort."
Hatters Top Performers
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Karsu Bayraktar — 9 kills, .389 hitting percentage, 2 service aces and 11 points
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Vanessa Shevchenko — 22 assists, 7 digs and 4 kills
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Andrea Diaz Dominguez — 8 kills, 10 digs, 1 service ace and 9 points
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Sofia Torcello — 3 service aces, 5 kills on .333 hitting, 2 blocks and 9 points
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Kayla Balfour — 4 blocks, including 1 solo, 4 kills on .333 hitting and 4 digs
Up Next
The Hatters will return home Saturday, Sept. 5, to host Bethune-Cookman at 5 p.m. at Insight Credit Union Arena at the Edmunds Center in DeLand. The match will serve as Stetson's home opener and will feature a schedule poster giveaway followed by postgame autographs.
About Stetson Athletics
At Stetson University, student-athletes don't just compete—they thrive. Located in historic DeLand, Florida, between Orlando and Daytona Beach, Stetson offers the perfect blend of competitive athletics, academic excellence, and an unbeatable Central Florida lifestyle. As the oldest private university in the region, Stetson supports approximately 500 student-athletes across 19 NCAA Division I sports. Nicknamed the "Hatters" after the institution's namesake John B. Stetson, a hat manufacturer who originated the modern-day cowboy hat, most Stetson athletic teams compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference, where they proudly hold the longest active membership since 1985. With top-tier facilities, personalized support, and a welcoming campus community, Stetson is where students can grow, compete, and succeed. Learn more at GoHatters.com or follow social media accounts @StetsonHatters
