The Stetson University Hatters completed a perfect 10-0 run through ASUN Conference play on Wednesday, sweeping a double-header from Florida Gulf Coast on home sand, but the victory was not without casualty.
Stetson lost a single game on the day, in the teams’ first matchup, and that point came on the 1 line – where their top duo of Maggie Skjelbred and Samantha Harris had to retire after splitting the first two sets due to injury. Stetson did not disclose which of the pair was injured, but in either case, it’s a blow to their chances at a spot in the NCAA championship tournament if the injury lingers.
“We unfortunately had an injury and had to move our entire line-up,” Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. “I think the team responded really well and just adapted really quickly. I am glad we could control our side and not worrying about other factors.”
Early in the season, Skjelbred played with Sunniva Helland-Hansen at the #1 line, though they eventually dropped as far as the 3 line mid-season after which the team made a change. Harris was inserted to play with Skjelbred, and the pair returned to that 1 line where they had a rocky start – losing 4 of their first 5. Since then, they had stabilized, however, winning 7 of their last 8 coming into Wednesday’s withdrawal.
The Hatters are approaching the toughest stretch of their season, which will finish with #2 Pepperdine, #14 Florida International, and #10 Grand Canyon before the ASUN championship tournament begins. Wins in those last two, especially, would be a huge boost for Stetson’s national championship tournament chances.
#5 Long Beach State, meanwhile, passed a mid-week test against vote-receiving Cal Poly and Loyola Marymount. That included straight-set sweeps from Nele Barber and Rachel Nieto, who had a tough go last week.
Also out west, Santa Clara beat San Francisco 3-2 for their first win of the season. Both teams were winless coming into the match.
Full April 12th Scoreboard is Below:
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score | Winning Team Recap | Losing Team Recap |
| #5 Long Beach State | Cal Poly | 4-1 | Link | Link |
| #5 Long Beach State | Loyola Marymount | 3-2 | Link | Link |
| #9 Stetson | FGCU | 4-1 | Link | Link |
| #9 Stetson | FGCU | 5-0 | Link | Link |
| Loyola Marymount | Cal Poly | 3-2 | Link | Link |
| Santa Clara | San Francisco | 3-2 | Link | Link |
Leave a Reply