SIESTA KEY, Fla.—The Webber International University women's beach volleyball team competed in the 2017 Rox Small College National Championship at Fiesta on Siesta. With 9 of the top small NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA schools from around the nation competing, Webber went undefeated in the two-day tournament to become the 2017 Rox Small College National Champions. The Lady Warriors finish the season with a 15-5 record.

It was a very tough weekend of competition for the Lady Warriors, with 4 back to back matches on Saturday to make the championship bracket on Sunday. Play began at 9 am on Saturday morning with Webber facing off against Principia College from Illinois. The Lady Warriors came away with a 5-0 win over Principia. Webber was set to face Sun Conference rival St. Thomas University for their next dual. The Lady Warriors proved to be too much for the Bobcats to handle, sweeping them 5-0. Next up was the very tough NCAA Division II Spring Hill College. After Katie Schueman and Laura Embry lost a very tight match at the #5 seed (13-21, 22-20, 9-15) and Hannah Tannone and Amber Lake won 2-1 (21-15, 19-21, 15-9) at the #4 seed. Webber needed to win 2 out of their next 3 matches to win the dual. Michelle Calderon and Brianna Baez picked up the next win for the Lady Warriors, 2-1 (20-22, 21-19, 15-10). Carlee Baxter and Tessa Colden were the #2 seed for Webber, falling 2-0 to Spring Hill (21-23, 19-21). It was up to Nikki McDaniel and Alex Spadaro to seal the match for the Lady Warriors, winning 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 15-9). Webber also played their final match of pool play on Saturday against Missouri Baptist University. The Lady Warriors took down the Spartans 4-1 to go undefeated in their first day of the championship.

After going undefeated on Saturday, the Lady Warriors received a bye in the first round of championship play, putting them into the semi-final match. Webber was set to face off against Spring Hill College again. The #4 and #5 seeds split with the Badgers, meaning that the Lady Warriors needed to win two out of their next three games to advance to the finals. The #1, #2, and, #3 seeds were all playing on three separate courts, which each match going to 3 sets. Brianna Baez and Michelle Calderon gave Webber one of the wins necessary for them to advance, winning 2-1 (20-22, 21-18, 15-12). Carlee Baxter and Tessa Colden defeated Spring Hill's #2 seed to give the Lady Warriors the win, 2-1 (21-16, 17-21, 17-15). Webber was set to face defending Small College National Champion, NCAA Division II Eckerd College. The Tritons jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Lady Warriors with wins at the #4 and #5 seeds.  Webber was not going to go down without a fight though, sweeping the next 3 matches in straight sets to defeat the Tritons 3-2 and take the championship title.

The Lady Warriors ended their season on a 10 game winning streak, with 5 of those wins against NCAA DI and DII opponents. Congratulations to Coach Julianne Calcote and team on all of their accomplishments this season. Go Warriors!!!

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL 5, PRINCIPIA 0

1. Spadaro/McDaniel (WIU) def. Fredrickson/Matters (PC): 21-11, 21-12
2. Baxter/Colden (WIU) def. Hathaway/Shoemaker (PC): 21-14, 21-10
3. Baez/Calderon (WIU) def. Fisher/Marunde (PC): 21-14, 21-9
4. Lake/Tannone (WIU) def. Patterson/Vandiver (PC): 21-12, 21-12
5. Schueman/Emrby (WIU) def. Tippetts/Roberts (PC): 21-10, 13-21, 15-9

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL 5, ST THOMAS 0

1. Spadaro/McDaniel (WIU) def. McCluskey/Durr (STU): 21-15, 21-9
2. Baxter/Colden (WIU) def. Battoe/Martino (STU): 21-9, 21-14
3. Baez/Calderon (WIU) def. White/Bannister (STU): 21-10, 21-10
4. Lake/Tannone (WIU) def. Ingram/Kastor (STU): 21-10, 21-8
5. Schueman/Embry (WIU) def. Gomez/Grunk (STU): 21-7, 21-4

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL 3, SPRING HILL 2

1. Spadaro/McDaniel (WIU) def. Vujnovich/Seuzeneau (SPC): 21-17, 15-21, 15-9
2. Becnel/Griffin (SPC) def. Baxter/Colden (WIU): 23-21, 21-19
3. Calderon/Baez (WIU) def. Sneft/Bilotti (SPC): 20-22, 21-19, 15-10
4. Lake/Tannone (WIU) def. Masoner/Herrera (SPC): 21-15, 19-21, 15-9
5. Hurst/Milwee (SPC) def. Schueman/Embry (WIU): 21-13, 20-22, 15-6

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL 4, MISSOURI BAPTIST 1

1. Brendan/Carey (MBU) def. Spadaro/McDaniel (WIU): 20-22, 21-12, 15-12
2. Baxter/Colden (WIU) def. Maas/Cigarini (MBU): 21-12, 21-10
3. Calderon/Baez (WIU) def. Wilson/Hughes (MBU): 21-12, 21-10
4. Lake/Tannone (WIU) def. Tosic/Bolton (MBU): 21-8, 21-11
5. Schueman/Embry (WIU) def. Hecht/Thibodeaux (MBU): 21-11, 21-15

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL 3, SPRING HILL 2

1. Vujnovich/Seuseneau (SPC) def. Spadaro/McDaniel (WIU): 21-18, 15-21, 18-16
2. Baxter/Colden (WIU) def. Sneft/Bilotti (SPC): 21-16, 17-21, 17-15
3. Calderon/Baez (WIU) def. Becnel/Griffin (SPC): 20-22, 21-18, 15-12
4. Lake/Tannone (WIU) def. Hurst/Milwee (SPC): 21-14, 21-19
5. Masoner/Herrera (SPC) def. Schueman/Embry (WIU): 21-13, 21-18