LAKE WALES, Fla. (February 27, 2019) – The Webber International University men's volleyball team put up a good fight but fell to its Crooked Lake rival Warner University 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12) in front of a raucous crowd on both sides on Wednesday night inside the Turner Athletic Center.

Webber started off great in the first set with leads of 8-1, 18-11, 21-12 and 22-14 while hitting .357 percent in the frame, but all the momentum shifted into Warner's favor in the second and third sets as the Warriors only hit .063 percent in the second set and hit -.125 percent in the third to fall behind two sets to one.

The third set was actually tied at 15-15 before a 6-0 Warner run put the Royals in control; but then with a 20-20 tie in the fourth set, Webber kept its hopes alive by winning each of the next four points before ultimately finishing it off on a kill by Pedro Lepever with the assist to Tim Rouch Jr. to force the deciding fifth frame.

Unfortunately, Webber was unable to capitalize on the opportunity to seize its first win over its rival Warner during its short two-year history as an official NAIA varsity program.

In the final set, the Warriors fell behind by scores of 4-1, 7-3 and 10-4, but battled all the way back to take an 11-10 lead with a 7-1 run beginning and ending with kills by Luke Taffer. But, Webber just did not have enough left to hold off the Royals as after a Warner service error put Webber ahead 12-11, the Royals rattled off each of the final four points of the night to leave the Warrior faithful in attendance shell-shocked.

Warner hit .211 percent in the final set while the Warriors were held to .000 percent.

Head Coach Eric Praetorius said, "The match came down to which team was in system more. I thought the guys did a great job to come back from down two sets to one and force a game five, and I am proud of their efforts in what was a great environment on both sides."

Steven Bartlett finished with a match-high 19 digs for the Warriors while Kyle Robertson dished out 26 assists, and Taffer recorded a match-high 12 kills with a .417 attack percentage.

With what was its third straight conference defeat, Webber fell to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in The Mid-South Conference on the season while Warner improved to 4-2 both overall and in the league.

The Warriors will now return home to the Sabbagh Athletic Center to host a Mid-South Conference match against Brewton-Parker College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, before hitting the road for three matches in two days at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, starting on Friday, March 8.