THE
Vol. CXXII Issue 3
EPORTER
Stetson University | DeLand, Fla.
Stetson Volleyball Off to
Best Start Since 1998
Team takes the crown at the Citadel Invitational
Sean McKnight
Sports Editor
With all the pageantry and
hype surrounding the first home
football game this Saturday, many
Hatter fans may not have realized
how dominating the volleyball
team was this past weekend in
Charleston, South Carolina.
Over the period of Friday and
.Saturday, Stetson won all three
of its matches against some solid
squads and have thus improved
upon their already stellar record.
Stetson faced their first challenge in a strong Charleston Southern team Friday afternoon, and
although The Hatters started the
match off slow and less aggressive
on offense than normal, they ended up handily crushing Charleston
Southern. Stetson dropped the first
set 25-21, but rallied to take the
last three 29-27, 25-21, and 27-25
Stetson's standouts came in the
form of freshman McKenna Foster and Shelby Connors who had
(unofficially) 14 and 13 kills, respectively
On Saturday, Stetson went up
against North Carolina A&T and
the tournament's host at The Citadel. Stetson swept Carolina A&T,
but the sweep did not come so easy
for our squad
It was Stetson's defense that
proved to be the difference for
them in those tight sets against the
Aggies. Stetson recorded 52 digs
and six blocks in the match, all of
which were crucial to their victory
that morning.
Later that afternoon, Stetson
went up against a resilient Citadel
The team gets ready to break from a timeout and head
. onto the court to finish the game.
*Btfto credit;
p» Frechette
team who definitely pushed The
Hatters to their limits athletically.
The Hatters blew through the
first set behind the serving arm of
Madison Akins and won the second set by holding off a Bulldogs
onslaught and winning late to post
a two-point win. The Bulldogs
handily took the third set of the
match, but this amounted to very
little as The Hatters dominated
Citadel in the fourth set. Behind
the serving arm of Akins, Stetson
went on two" separate 6-0 runs,
which propelled them to victory
over The Citadel and allowed them
to take the tournament crown.
Thus far, Stetson's volleyball
team has looked the best I have
ever seen. Their communication
is on point on the court, as well as
their team play. With Knstina Hernandez at the helm of the squad, I
do not see The Hatters going anywhere but up
Their record is 5-1 so far, the
, best it has been since 1998, and
with in-conference play coming
up sooner than we think, I see
Stetson dominating the competition. They have a strong mix of
upperclassmen with a great deal
of on-court experience as well as
plenty of young guns who have
learned the ropes proficiently and
have the ability, even as freshman,
to make consistent plays day in
and day out.
the biggest contributing factor to Stetson's early success is
how well they come together in a
bind and can consistently win sets.
If the Hatters keep that mind set of
"one set and one match at a time,"
•they will'be extremely successful
this year
Madison Akins spikes down the ball to give the
Hatters another point.
