BABSON PARK, Fla. (June 3, 2020) – Over the next couple of weeks, Webber International University athletics will be remembering some of its greatest sports teams of all time. Next up is the 2008 and 2016 Webber women's volleyball teams.

Since joining The Sun Conference in 2008, the Webber International University women's volleyball team has experienced a variety of postseason success. The Warriors have won two Sun Conference Regular-Season Championships (2016, 2018), have won three Sun Conference Tournament Championships (2008, 2016, 2017), and have advanced to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round three times (2008, 2016, 2017).

2008 Webber Women's Volleyball Team: In the first ever official season of Sun Conference action, the 2008 Webber women's volleyball team, coached by Tim Edfors in his fourth season leading the Warriors, went 27-10 overall and 12-2 in The Sun Conference en route to winning the inaugural Sun Conference Tournament Championship as the No. 2 seed. The Warriors also advanced to the program's first NAIA National Championship Opening Round and national tournament appearance.

Following an eight-match winning streak to finish off the month of September, the Warriors found themselves 10-2 overall and 5-0 in The Sun Conference to start the season and never looked back as Webber improved to 16-5 and then finished the regular season 25-9 overall.

On the Warriors' Senior Night on October 30, Webber came back from a 2-0 deficit to upset No. 7 nationally-ranked Madonna University 3-2 (13-25, 17-25, 28-26, 25-23, 15-10). Key players were Cindy Eurie with 20 kills and 16 digs, Kristina Reeves with 10 kills, and Kerri Romaniszyn with nine. Julianne Dougherty (now Julianne Dougherty-Calcote) finished with 19 digs while Tammy Needham had 18. Danelle Wagner lead the way with 25 assists while Trisha Belcher had 22.

Webber proceeded to close out the regular season on a six-match winning streak, and then after beating SCAD Savannah 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 15-25, 25-14) in The Sun Conference Tournament semifinals followed by a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-23) sweep over Embry-Riddle in the championship, the Warriors claimed their second eight-match winning streak of the season.

In the win for Webber over SCAD in the semifinals, Eurie led the way with 12 kills while Romaniszyn added 10 more. Wagner had 23 assists while Belcher added 16. Wagner was one of three Warriors in double figures with 19 digs while Needham had 15 and Dougherty registered 10. Reeves had five total blocks and Jasmine Chriss and Ashley Naughton had four each.

Then in the TSC Tournament Championship match against Embry-Riddle, Eurie finished with 14 kills and seven digs while Reeves, Chriss and Naughton added six more each. Needham led the Warriors in double figures with 16 digs and Wagner led in double figures with 19 assists closely followed by Belcher with 17 assists of her own.

Unfortunately, in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, held on November 22 in Mobile, Alabama, the Warriors dropped brutally close second and third sets against No. 20 nationally-ranked the University of Mobile and fell 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 30-28). Eurie finished the final match of her senior season with 17 kills and 18 digs.

By the end of the regular season, Eurie was named The Sun Conference Player of the Year for the second season in a row while Reeves was named second-team all-conference. Eurie was also selected as a member of the 2008 AVCA NAIA All-Region Team for the Southeast Region by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) and was an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American. She was a two-time conference player of the week who had 315 kills in 109 sets played during the regular season. 

2016 Webber Women's Volleyball Team: Eight years after their first Sun Conference Tournament Championship and subsequent first trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, the 2016 Webber women's volleyball team, coached by Brian Goodhind in his fourth year leading the Warriors and sixth season with the team overall, went an incredible 28-3 overall and 14-0 in The Sun Conference while also going on to bring home the program's first Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship. Webber then followed that up with its second TSC Tournament Championship and its second NAIA National Championship Opening Round appearance in program history.

Webber began the season by going 4-0 during the Faulkner Invitational and started off 6-0 overall before going on an epic 14-match winning streak and winning 20 of its first 21 matches of the season. The Warriors also earned a national ranking as high as No. 24 in the NAIA by the end of that winning streak.

The Warriors' only two losses during the regular season were a close 3-2 (20-25, 25-10, 20-25, 29-27, 15-9) loss at Life University on September 2 and another 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-13, 14-25, 15-10) defeat at home against the University of St. Francis (Ill.) on October 19. It was an incredible turnaround after the Warriors were only 8-15 overall and 4-8 in the conference in 2015.

One of the Warriors' biggest matches of the regular season came at home on October 14 as Webber won its 12th match in a row by upsetting No. 21 nationally-ranked St. Thomas University, which was also the preseason favorite to win The Sun Conference, by a final score of 3-2 (25-27, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-9). Nikki McDaniel carried the offense for the Warriors, finishing with a season-high 30 kills to go along with 13 digs. Tessa Colden added 12 kills and 17 digs for a double-double of her own, and Jade Carline chipped in eight kills. Carlee Baxter ran the offense with a match-high 57 assists, and Michelle Calderon anchored the defense with a season-best 31 digs.

"Two of my favorite memories from that 2016 season are when we played at Warner and when we played St. Thomas at home," spoke Katie Schueman. "The game against Warner was such an electric environment to play in because it was such a huge rivalry. Then coming back from being down 2-0 against St. Thomas to stay undefeated in conference was another special game. We really had to come together and support each other to pull off that win. It wasn't about a single player; we were all there for each other."

"Throughout the whole season, our team grew more like family and we were pulling off upsets against top-ranked teams that seemed unimaginable," said Colden. "The moment we beat St. Thomas, a top-25 team in the nation, was unbelievable. Our crowd was huge during that game and they were going crazy. It was a tight match, and when the final point ended and our team realized that we had won, everyone stormed the court in shock of what we had accomplished. At that moment we knew if we kept up the hard work we could win The Sun Conference Championship."

Then on October 29 at St. Thomas, Webber clinched its first Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship (12-0 at the time) with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 27-25) sweep of the Bobcats. McDaniel would carry the load yet again with 15 kills and 14 digs for a double-double while Calderon anchored Webber's defense with 21 digs and Baxter added 28 assists. 

Just like it did in 2008, Webber closed out the 2016 regular season on a six-match winning streak and then pushed that winning streak to eight wins in a row with two victories to win The Sun Conference Tournament, which was held November 11-12 inside the friendly confines of the Sabbagh Athletic Center in Babson Park, Florida.

The top-seeded Warriors first defeated Keiser University 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-10) in the semifinals of the TSC Tournament before taking down St. Thomas also by a score of 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23) in the championship, which was their third win of the season over the Bobcats.

"Going undefeated in conference and winning both the regular-season and the conference tournament championships was so surreal for me since I was just a freshman," spoke Brianna Baez. "I knew that I was on a very good team who was capable of making history, and I am so happy and thankful I got to share that with my teammates and coaches that season."

Colden continued, "We trained hard each practice to finish the regular season as conference champions. When the conference tournament finally came, we made it to the final round smoothly, and then we had to face St. Thomas again for The Sun Conference title. It was another challenging game with scores that came very close in each set. In the end, we pulled out a victory and everyone began to cry in the center of the Webber gym. We had just accomplished something amazing together; this would be something we remembered for the rest of our lives."

In the win over Keiser, McDaniel led the way with 21 kills while Colden and Schueman added 13 and 11, respectively. Baxter had 50 assists while the Warriors' defense was anchored by Calderon's 29 digs and Colden's 20, giving her a double-double. Gilmary Ramos also added a career-high 18 digs, part of a 92-dig effort by the Warriors.

Against St. Thomas in the TSC Tournament Championship, McDaniel had a double-double with 22 kills and 13 digs, and Schueman tallied 13 kills while hitting .500 on the match. Baxter had her second 50-assist effort of the tournament, tallying 100 assists in two matches, and Calderon added 28 digs.

Then in their NAIA National Championship Opening Round match held once again at the University of Mobile on November 19 in Mobile, Alabama, the Warriors yet again fell to the Rams, but this time Webber won the first set and then fell by only two points in each of the next three sets to lose 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23) in heartbreaking fashion.

"The 2016 indoor season was literally the best season ever," said Calderon. "We made school history going undefeated in conference play, hosting the conference tournament for the first time ever and then the conference championship win was the cherry on top. We stole the majority of awards at the conference banquet and that was awesome too. Winning both The Sun Conference Regular-Season and Conference Tournament Championships is something I will never forget and will keep re-living every time I get the chance to."

By the end of the regular season, Coach Brian Goodhind was named TSC Coach of the Year, Calderon was named TSC Libero of the Year for the second season in a row, Baxter was named both TSC Setter and Freshman of the Year, and McDaniel was named TSC Newcomer of the year. McDaniel, Baxter and Calderon were, of course, each named First-Team All-Sun Conference while Colden was named to the second-team and Schueman was Honorable Mention. During the regular season, Calderon led the conference in digs with 570, averaging nearly six per set, and also was tops in aces at 55. Baxter led the conference in assists with 1,040, an average of 10.5 per set. Last but not least, McDaniel hit .261 with a team-high 417 kills, totaled 296 digs, and was in on 36 total blocks.

However, the awards just kept coming in for the Warriors as the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) announced its NAIA Regional award winners and gave all-region accolades to McDaniel, Calderon and Baxter. Additionally, the AVCA Regional Libero of the Year award went to Calderon while the AVCA Regional Coach of the Year honor went to Coach Goodhind.

Last but not least, McDaniel was named an NAIA Third-Team All-American while Calderon received All-American Honorable Mention accolades.

Final Thoughts:

"I think what made our 2016 team so special was our loyalty and unconditional friendship," added Calderon. "We also loved our coaches Jules and Brian so much, and it was the first time I felt like we were all 100 percent bought in. Throughout my four years of playing collegiate volleyball, I never felt so close to a group of girls, I never felt so comfortable during serve-receive on the court than next to Nikki, or knowing that no matter where the pass went, Carlee would get to it and have a great set out of it. Every time I think about that year and that team I get very emotional. I remember us being silly on the bus, taking jokes way too far, and of course, our pre-game routines. Mostly, I remember that feeling of walking in a different gym every week and looking at each other and just knowing that we were going to win every game no matter what... we had that winning mentality. Every time I think of this team, I wish we could go back and do it all over again. We put Webber on the map, other schools knew that they were going to have a tough time every time they'd play us. I hope that girls who commit to play at Webber in the future want to rise to the occasion and have the desire to break our records, beat more teams, and ultimately take Webber to win another championship. Our games were packed every single time and it made the conference championship 100 times better to win in front of our home crowd. I love this team so much. It was definitely a year to remember, I miss my girls so much and wish we could re-live this year over and over again."

Baez concluded, "It was awesome to be a part of the 2016 Webber women's volleyball team because Coach Jules, our assistant coach at the time, was on the 2008 team. She was able to provide her knowledge and experiences with us in order to advance back into the first round of nationals, which we did. The bond that I had with these girls will forever be my favorite. We weren't the tallest team and a lot of our lineup was made up of our freshmen and upper classmen. It was nerve racking for sure as this was my first collegiate season, but I felt so confident having the older girls by my side lifting me up and pushing me to get better every practice and game from their experiences."

"Our 2016 season was unforgettable," spoke Carline. "The experience was so fun and rewarding. We worked so hard together day in and day out and for our goals to come to fruition and get that ring, it was indescribable. That season was so special because of our bond. Those girls are my second family and to have that kind of connection on a team, and the talent to match it - we became unstoppable. We all did our jobs and had each other's backs on and off the court. Our games truly brought everyone together. It was always a big celebration. We had so much support from our Webber family and their energy was always much appreciated. I wish we could all play together one more time. We have some great memories to cherish. Go Warriors."

"The 2016 season was so special," concluded Schueman. "The team had really great chemistry from the beginning and I think that was one of the main reasons we were so successful. Everyone was bought in to what we were trying to accomplish from the first day of preseason. Our motto for every game was to try to go 1-0 every day which took a lot of pressure off of us and really allowed us to play for each other.  We didn't have to worry about the last game we played or who we were playing next, we only had to focus on what was in front of us. Going forward, I think that season had a big impact on the women's volleyball program at Webber. Since Nikki and I were the only seniors on the team, they had a lot of really talented young players come back. There was so much experience with the girls that returned and they knew what having such a successful season felt like and what it took to win in big moments. I'm so proud to have been a part of making the Webber volleyball program the success that it is today and couldn't have imagined a better way to end my playing career. There's so many memories that I cherish from that year."

Colden concluded, "Coming into Webber, my main focus was to help the volleyball program win a conference championship. Being my freshman year, I remember the nerves I had at our first home game competing in front of such a large crowd. Thankfully, the seniors on my team lead the way and helped all of the freshmen lose those nerves quickly. We soon became a family that pushed each other to perform at our best through constant support no matter the outcome. What stuck out to me the most about the 2016 team is my teammates. I had grown up playing club volleyball alongside a few of my close teammates and had also been coached by many of the older players as well, so when we played together things flowed effortlessly. I remember moments where we would be down by at least five points and we'd look at each other in the time out with full confidence telling ourselves 'we are not going to lose.' There was just an indescribable bond between everyone that allowed us to make history at Webber. I also will never forget our team song 'Closer' by The Chainsmokers that we would sing before every game and during timeouts. To this day whenever I hear that song, it reminds me of my Webber family."