BABSON PARK, Fla. (September 16, 2017) – In what turned out to be its 2017 The Sun Conference opener after many schedule shifts, the Webber International University women's volleyball team defeated Southeastern University, 3-2 (25-18, 26-28, 25-23, 25-27, 15-12), Saturday night at the Sabbagh Athletic Center.
The match was also the home opener for the Warriors (6-3), who used the momentum from a great home crowd to start off the conference slate with a win over the only other team in the league with a winning record in non-conference action as the Fire fell to 8-4. The first meeting between Webber and Southeastern was originally schedule for Wednesday, September 13, in Lakeland, Florida, but was moved after the landing of Hurricane Irma in South Florida.
"What a tremendous effort from both teams tonight," said Head Volleyball Coach
Lindsey Martin. "After the fear and devastation many athletes, from both teams, have encountered in the past week from Hurricane Irma, it was amazing to watch such an incredibly tough match battled out for five sets."
A few Warriors had eye-popping stats on the day as
Virginia Salanoa-Sagapolu finished with 24 kills and
Carlee Baxter had a career-high 53 assists.
Cameron Neely and
Brittany Taksas added 17 and 11 kills, respectively, while
Michelle Calderon reached double-digit digs for the eighth straight match with 14.
The fifth set featured ties at 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12 before kills by
Emily Bowen and Neely put the Warriors ahead at 14-12. A Southeastern attack error one point later finished the night off in Webber's favor.
Each preceding set was just as exciting as the final as the Warriors withstood a furious 6-0 Southeastern run at the end of the third set. The Fire required extra scoring to take sets two and four.
"Southeastern is a very talented team who continued to battle point after point," said Martin. "I am so glad our Warriors came mentally prepared to fight, and with the roar of whole student body behind us in the stands, we wouldn't have settled for anything but a win. As we continue to work on our skills and focus, we are proud of our first conference win, as well as our first win at home."
Webber will stay on its home court on Wednesday, September 20, to host the College of Coastal Georgia at 7 p.m. Despite winning The Sun Conference regular-season and tournament championships a year ago, the Warriors were picked to finish second in the 2017 conference preseason poll behind conference newcomer, the College of Coastal Georgia.
