Karsu Bayraktar recorded nine kills to lead Stetson University women’s volleyball to a 3-0 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 4 at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach. Stetson won 25-22, 25-20 and 25-22 to improve to 2-2, while Bethune-Cookman fell to 1-3.
Both teams recorded 39 kills, but Stetson hit .189 for the match compared with .157 for Bethune-Cookman. The Hatters also committed three fewer attack errors and finished with nine service aces against two service errors.
Bayraktar leads Stetson attack
Bayraktar hit .389 and added two service aces and 11 points. Vanessa Shevchenko contributed 22 assists, seven digs and four kills, while Andrea Diaz Dominguez finished with eight kills, 10 digs, one service ace and nine points.
Sofia Torcello recorded three service aces, five kills on .333 hitting, two blocks and nine points. Kayla Balfour added four blocks, including one solo block, four kills on .333 hitting and four digs.
Bethune-Cookman opened the match with a 5-1 lead after a Lelia Fitz kill, but Stetson answered with five consecutive points. Andrea Diaz Dominguez added a kill, Jannelize Perez followed with an ace, and Sofia Torcello and Fitz teamed for a block as Stetson took a 6-5 lead.
Bethune-Cookman later turned a 13-9 deficit into a 14-13 advantage, but Diaz Dominguez tied the set with a kill before Kayla Balfour and Torcello combined for a block. Stetson pulled away late, and Maria Ozaeta closed the set with a kill from Shevchenko for a 25-22 victory.
Stetson carried that momentum into the second set, but Bethune-Cookman used an 8-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. The Hatters rallied to tie the set at 11-11, with Torcello contributing a kill and an ace before consecutive Balfour kills from Shevchenko helped Stetson pull even.
Bayraktar tied the set at 12-12, and Balfour and Fitz followed with a block to put Stetson ahead 13-12. After the Wildcats tied the set at 13-13, Stetson scored four straight points and held on for a 25-20 win, with Bayraktar supplying the final three Stetson kills at 20-18, 23-19 and 25-20.
Stetson built a 7-3 lead in the third set after winning six of seven points. Bayraktar served an ace, while Fitz and Diaz Dominguez added kills, and consecutive Torcello aces later pushed the Hatters ahead 12-9.
A Balfour kill, a Bayraktar kill and another Bayraktar ace helped Stetson establish a 17-11 lead. Bethune-Cookman rallied to tie the set at 20-20, but a Lino dos Santos attack error put Stetson back in front before Shevchenko and Bayraktar combined for three straight kills. Bayraktar finished the match with a kill from Shevchenko for the 25-22 set win 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.”
Stetson prepares for home opener
Stetson will host Bethune-Cookman at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Insight Credit Union Arena at the Edmunds Center in DeLand. The match will be Stetson’s home opener.
The event will include a schedule poster giveaway followed by postgame autographs.
Source: Original report