Stetson University Athletics women’s volleyball lost its ASUN home conference opener to West Florida 3-0 on Friday at Insight Credit Union Arena at Edmunds Center in DeLand. West Florida won 25-20, 25-20, 25-13. Stetson twice trimmed six-point deficits to two points and remained within reach late in the first two sets.
Stetson stays close through first two sets
Stetson erased an early 6-3 deficit in the opening set and tied the score at 6-6 after a block by Sofia Torcello and Vanessa Shevchenko, followed by a service ace from Maia Pou. Kills from Kayla Balfour, Andrea Diaz Dominguez, Eden Bristow and Karsu Bayraktar helped Stetson stay within reach. West Florida led 22-20 before scoring the final three points to take the set.
Stetson fell behind 16-10 in the second set but cut the deficit to two points at 20-18 after a Bayraktar kill off an assist from Jannelize Perez. Shevchenko added a kill, while Balfour and Bayraktar produced late kills for Stetson. West Florida closed the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead.
West Florida finishes the sweep
Stetson again made a push in the third set after falling behind 11-5. Perez served an ace, and consecutive West Florida attack errors helped Stetson pull within 13-11. West Florida then pulled away to win the set 25-13 and complete the sweep.
West Florida hit .327 for the match, compared with .172 for Stetson. The result left Stetson at 4-9 overall and 0-2 in ASUN play, while West Florida improved to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
Bayraktar leads Stetson
Bayraktar led Stetson with eight kills on .368 hitting, nine points, four digs and one solo block. Balfour recorded five kills on .364 hitting, two block assists and six points. Shevchenko finished with 15 assists, five digs, three kills and one service ace.
Perez recorded 12 digs and one service ace. Diaz Dominguez added eight digs, four kills and one block assist.
Next match
Stetson will host Queens on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. at Insight Credit Union Arena at Edmunds Center in DeLand. The match is the women’s volleyball team’s next scheduled contest.
FSB Take
Stetson showed it could answer West Florida’s runs in the first two sets, but the visitors finished both frames and controlled the third. Bayraktar led the attack, while Shevchenko and Perez paced the setting and defensive efforts. Queens is next at home on Oct. 4.
Source: Original report