Stetson Edges Liberty 3-2 in Back-and-Forth Match

Liberty fought off four match points during an extended third set and later forced set five before the host Stetson Hatters claimed the five-set (25-22, 25-17, 25-27, 20-25, 15-6) victory, Friday at the Edmunds Center.

Stetson improves to 9-9 on the season, including 4-2 in ASUN play. Meanwhile, Liberty falls to 6-6 overall, 2-3 in ASUN matches following its third straight setback.

Notable Numbers

• Liberty is now 2-3 in five-set matches this season, while Stetson is 3-0 in five-set contests.

• For the match, Stetson outhit Liberty .168-.145. The Hatters outblocked the Lady Flames, 21-15.5, while also holding an 87-83 edge in digs. Both teams served up four aces.

• Elena Djokovic (17 kills, 20 digs, six blocks) and Anabelle Standish (14 kills, 10 digs) both fashioned double-doubles for the Hatters. Nyah Molina totaled 45 assists and 25 digs, while Kaylee Oscarson recorded nine kills and seven blocks. Alejandra Perez collected 18 digs.

• Kate Phillips led all players with a career-high 20 kills and added 17 digs for her third career double-double in five matches played. Lydia Burts scored 12 kills and posted a career-high nine block assists. Amaya Williams posted a double-double with 50 assists and 17 digs, while Trinity Watts (10 kills, 12 digs) and Kennedi Sutter (11 kills, 10 digs, six blocks) also registered double-doubles. Lindsey Hardesty collected 15 digs.

Turning Point

• Stetson had four match-point tries in the third set, leading 24-20. However, Liberty fought off all four, and went on to win set three 27-25 to extend the match. The Flames fed off of that momentum, scoring a 25-20 set-four win.

• However, the Hatters rebounded in the fifth, hitting .316 compared to -.150 for the Lady Flames in a 15-6 victory.

Quick Hits

• Liberty is now 6-2 all-time against Stetson in volleyball. Each of Stetson’s wins over the Lady Flames has gone a full five sets, with the last one being a 3-2 Hatters win on Oct. 13, 2019 in the Vines Center. Liberty was 3-0 all-time in Stetson’s Edmunds Center prior to tonight.

• Liberty had four players with a double-double tonight, the first time since Nov. 1, 2008 at Gardner-Webb that four Lady Flames posted double-doubles in the same match. That day, Karyl Bacon, Kallie Corbin, Chelaine McCarty and Jessica Nelson all had double-doubles.

• Phillips is the first Liberty freshman with a 20-kill match since Leah Clayton scored 26 kills in the 2016 Big South semifinal against High Point.

• Williams, playing for the first time since Sept. 11, had her fifth career 50-assist match and 16th career double-double. She needs 39 more assists to become the 11th player in program history with 2,000 or more career assists.

• Burts, Madison Blane and Aspen Thompson have all posted at least one match with nine or more blocks this season. This is the first time in the program’s rally-scoring history (since 2001) that three Liberty players all had at least one nine-block match.

Up Next

The Lady Flames wrap up their stretch of six consecutive away matches, taking on ASUN Division-leading FGCU on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. Alico Arena will later serve as host site for the 2021 ASUN Volleyball Championship, Nov. 19-21.