MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (November 11, 2017) – For the second straight season, the Webber International University women's volleyball team faced Saint Thomas University in The Sun Conference Tournament championship match, and for the second straight season, the Warriors were victorious by a score of 3-1. Second-seeded Webber defeated top-seeded Saint Thomas 3-1 (14-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19) on Saturday at the Fernandez Family Center.
The win also propelled Webber into its second straight automatic bid to the NAIA Opening Round as the Warriors also won 25 matches for the second year in a row (currently 25-5). Saint Thomas' season finishes with an overall record of 19-12.
After another slow start in the opening set for Webber, a theme that has been with the Warriors for the majority of the season, Webber got things going in the second set with a total team effort.
A kill by
Brittany Taksas followed by two kills by
Virginia Salanoa-Sagapolu gave the Warriors an 18-17 lead, and a service ace by Taksas made it 20-18.
Webber led 22-19 after back-to-back kills by
Carlee Baxter, led 24-20 after another kill by Salanoa-Sagapolu and an ace by
Amber Lake, and then earned the set victory with a kill by
Brianna Roque.
Webber led 23-14 in the third set after an 11-4 run, but the Bobcats threatened by scoring on six of the next seven points before
Cameron Neely ended it with a kill off the assist from Baxter.
The fourth and final set was similar to the third set as Webber held leads of 19-10, 20-12, 21-13 and 22-15 before Saint Thomas scored three in a row to get within four points.
From there, Neely earned two more kills and Taksas had the final point of the match on a kill as Baxter assisted on each of the final three points to finish with 47 in total. Baxter also finished with 14 digs, while
Michelle Calderon finished with a very strong 30 digs, and
Gilmary Ramos added 10.
Head Coach
Lindsey Martin, in her first season with the Warriors, had this to say on her team's accomplishment, "It's amazing to watch a group of young women come together behind a common goal and fight to achieve it, but that's what we were able to witness today against Saint Thomas. After a disappointing first set, I spoke with the team about having the fight to achieve something great, the fight to find a way to succeed no matter what adversary they face. Someone was going to end the next set with a win, and if they wanted that to be us, they would have to work together, believe in each other and fight for what they wanted as a team. Our Lady Warriors accepted the challenge and battled their way into a conference title. I'm very proud and honored to lead them in their fight as their coach. We look forward to our next battle as we advance to the NAIA Regional Playoffs."
Emily Bowen finished with a double-double at 10 kills and 14 digs, and was one of four Warriors with double-digit kills as Salanoa-Sagapolu had 16, Neely had 15 and Taksas had 13 while hitting .357 percent and adding three blocks.
Webber's efficiency improved each set throughout the match as it hit .000 percent in the first set, .163 percent in the second, .283 in the third and .308 in the fourth.
The opening round of the NAIA National Tournament is set for one week from Saturday, on November 18, at various campus sites. The 44-team field for the national tournament will be announced on Monday, November 13.
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