MOUNT VERNON, Ga. (February 8, 2019) – For the first time in program history, the Webber International University men's volleyball team has played an official Mid-South Conference men's volleyball match, and it came on a great night as the Warriors defeated Cincinnati Christian University 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-15) on Friday.

In addition to being the first win both of the season overall and in the Mid-South Conference for Webber (1-3 overall, 1-0 MSC), the win was also good for the first victory for the Warriors' new head coach Eric Praetorius.

Pacing the Warriors was Zachary Ayala with 12 kills and a .400 attack percentage, Luke Taffer with five service aces and Kyle Robertson with 21 assists.

Tim Rouch Jr. also added 13 assists, Taffer also added seven kills, Robertson also had three service aces, and freshman Pedro Lepever added eight kills with an attack percentage of .500 percent while also recording three blocks.

Webber hit .301 percent on the match as a team, including a strong percentage of .355 percent in the second set and .375 percent in the third, while Cincinnati Christian (0-6, 0-1) hit exactly .000 percent. The Warriors also finished with 12 service aces compared to only one ace for the Eagles and also out-assisted CCU 38-15.

"We played shaky at the start and missed a few serves, but then we served the other team out of the gym," said Praetorius. "We got them out of system and blocked them really well. Tyler Massey played his first match and we could run a 6-2 offense. He looked great and the extra hitter really opened up the setting. In all, it was a fun match, and we played well as a team."

The Warriors led 19-6 in the second set after a big 8-0 run and eventually won the set on a kill by Taffer with the assist by Gabe Segarra.

In the third and final set, Webber led 18-5 after a 6-0 run and went on to win the match on a kill by Robertson on the pass from Rouch Jr.

Next up for Webber is another neutral Mid-South Conference match hosted by Brewton-Parker College tomorrow on Saturday, February 9. The Warriors and the Rams of Bluefield College will do battle at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Georgia. Bluefield, which is currently 3-7 on the 2019 season, fell twice to the Warriors last season during Webber's first ever official season as a member of the NAIA.

This is the first season the Mid-South Conference is sponsoring men's volleyball, which is broken up into two divisions in the MSC. Webber is a part of the South Division, while both Cincinnati Christian and Bluefield are a part of the North Division.