No. 1 Seed Hatters Host ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship

Cory Lancaster April 10, 2018
Two players trade high-5s on the court during play.

The 17th-ranked Stetson beach volleyball team will look to capture its fourth conference championship in the past five years as the Hatters host the 2018 ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship this weekend at the Cooper Beach Courts.

Group photo of all the players in a V-shape on the beach volleyball court.
The Stetson beach volleyball team will host the 2018 ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship this weekend at the Cooper Beach Courts.

Stetson (27-8), the No. 1 seed for the tournament, will face the winner of fourth-seeded Mercer vs. fifth-seeded Jacksonville at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.  If the Hatters stay in the winners bracket, they will play a semifinal match at 9 a.m. Sunday. The winner-take-all championship match is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday.

Here is the full schedule:

Saturday:
Match 1, 9 a.m.: No. 4 Mercer (8-11) vs. No. 5 Jacksonville (5-16)
Match 2, 11 a.m.: No. 2 FGCU (13-9) vs. No. 3 UNF (17-10)
Match 3, 1 p.m.: No. 1 Stetson (27-8) vs. Match 1 winner
Match 4, 3 p.m.: Match 1 loser vs. Match 2 loser

Sunday:
Match 5, 9 a.m.: Match 2 winner vs. Match 3 winner
Match 6, 11 a.m.: Match 4 winner vs. Match 3 loser
Match 7, 1 p.m.: Match 5 loser vs. Match 6 winner
Match 8, 3 p.m.: Winner-Take-All Championship Match

Admission is free.

Stetson went a perfect 10-0 in conference play to clinch the ASUN regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the fourth year in a row.  The Hatters’ pairs combined to win 44 of their 50 matches against ASUN opponents.

Stetson previously won the ASUN Championship in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Two players trade high-5s on the court during play.
The Hatters are looking to win their fourth conference championship in five years.

“It would be a great achievement to win our fourth title in five years, and to capitalize on the great season we have had during the regular season,” Stetson head coach and ASUN Coach of the Year Kristina Hernandez said.  “We just want to finish as best as we can and see what falls in to place after that.

“It would be huge for our program but it is going to be a tough road.  There are some good teams, and they really want it, so we have to be prepared for that and understand everyone is going to come at us a little harder this year.”

All eight ASUN Championship matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Tom James and Taylor Kennedy calling the action.  Live scores will be available on StetsonStats.com.

–GoHatters.com