BABSON PARK, Fla. (October 6, 2017) – In a matchup between the last unbeaten volleyball teams in The Sun Conference action, the Webber International University women's volleyball came up short against Saint Thomas University, 3-0 (30-28, 25-23, 25-19), on Friday night at the Sabbagh Athletic Center.

Webber, which had a chance to distance itself from the rest of the pack in the TSC but instead saw its eight-match winning streak snapped, fell to 13-4 on the season overall and is now 7-1 in the conference. Saint Thomas bounced back from a 3-0 defeat against No. 19 Bellevue University earlier in the day as its record rose to 7-9 and 5-0.

"Saint Thomas was the better team tonight," said Head Volleyball Coach Lindsey Martin. "They played a great match and we didn't step up in the ways that we should have. Our discipline wavered at times, and we didn't execute the game plan. Although losing is never acceptable in the eyes of any competitor, it is important that our team does not lose focus on the task at hand; we are only half way through our season and there is plenty of time to learn from tonight. It will be a quick turnaround for tomorrow's match, but after that, we will have the opportunity to rest and reassess what needs to be worked on in practice, and refocus ourselves in order to achieve our season goals." 

For the fourth straight time in three-set matchups, Carlee Baxter continues to rack up 30 or more assists as she finished with 39 on Friday, and she also reached double-digit digs for the third time during that span as she finished with 10. Michelle Calderon came up with 20 digs to lead both teams. Baxter's assist total and Calderon's dig total were both career-highs in three set matches for the two players.

Gilmary Ramos also added 10 digs for Webber while Brittany Taksas and Virginia Salanoa-Sagapolu each put up 13 kills, and Cameron Neely had 12 kills. Taksas has recorded 13 kills in three straight matches, and has 13 or more kills in four straight matches.

Down 23-22 in the first set, Salanoa-Sagapolu earned a kill to tie the match for the Warriors. Webber would go on to win the next point to lead 24-23 and even reached set-point four times, but could not finish off the Bobcats as a service error and two attack errors helped keep Saint Thomas' hopes alive.

In the second set, a kill by Kobi Allston tied it up at 20-20 before the Bobcats went ahead 24-21. Back-to-back kills by Taksas and Salanoa-Sagapolu pulled the Warriors to within one, but in the end it would not be enough as Webber fell down two sets to none.

An 8-2 run for Saint Thomas in the third set opened the score up at 16-10 in favor of the Bobcats, a lead they would not relinquish as they led 18-11, 19-13 and 23-17. Taksas and Salanoa-Sagapolu again combined for back-to-back kills, but that was as close as Webber would get as a Bobcat kill followed by a service ace ended the match.

Next up, Webber will head into the final day of a stretch featuring four matches in four days as the Warriors will have little time to rest before a 9:30 a.m. matchup with the No. 19 team in the country, Bellevue University, during the Royals Classic at Warner University.