BABSON PARK, Fla. (March 11, 2021) – For the first time in the four-year history of the Webber International University men's volleyball program, the Warriors have defeated a nationally-ranked NAIA program as Webber defeated No. 14 Life University 3-2 (25-17, 25-15, 19-25, 20-25, 20-18) on Thursday night inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center.

In the fifth set, Webber had match point up 14-13 after a kill and an ace both by Daniel Hermida, and then a kill by Zachary Ayala made it 15-14 Warriors.

Then tied at 18-18, Webber pulled off the win as Hermida put down another kill on the assist from Justin Beecher, and then Gunter Perea Quevedo finished things off with a big solo block.

Hermida finished with six kills in the final set and had a season-high 17 kills in all with a .452 attack percentage. Ayala finished with 11 kills while Chris Ludwig had nine and Perea Quevedo had eight.

Beecher finished with a new career-high 44 assists while both he and Hermida also added four service aces and Ludwig had two.

Defensively, Perea Quevedo finished with six blocks while Beecher had three and Peyten Young and Ludwig both had two. In the digs category, Steven Bartlett led the way with a season-high 12 digs while Daniel Suarez had eight and Ayala and Ludwig both had six.

Webber was also the beneficiary of out blocking Life 8-3 and recording 12 aces to the Eagles' seven.

It was a great start to the match for the Warriors, who connected with a kill on each of their first five attacks of the match and hit .500 percent in all for the first set. Webber then hit .333 percent in the second set before bouncing back in the final set to hit .350 percent.

Webber led by scores of 7-1, 11-4, 15-7, 17-10 and 22-15 in the first set before winning it on a kill by Perea Quevedo.

Then in the second set, the Warriors led 4-0, 6-1, 8-2, 10-3, 14-6, 16-8, 17-9, 19-11 and 22-13 before winning it on a kill by Ludwig.

In the third set, Webber led 7-2, 8-4 and 12-9 early on before six straight points by the Running Eagles broke a 19-19 tie to get Life on the scoreboard.

"We started the game well but struggled with a few decisions that put us in a deficit in the third and fourth sets," said Head Coach Carlos Jimenez. "I was proud that the guys were able to keep their composure and come out ahead on the last set. It was a good learning experience for some of our players, and we hope to capitalize on the momentum as we head into our second match against Reinhardt."

With the upset win, Webber improved to 6-7 overall and got back to .500 in the Mid-South Conference at 4-4 while also winning for the first time in program history over Life, which fell to 7-2 and 4-2.

Next up, Webber will host its last of four straight home games inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center as the Warriors and the Eagles of Reinhardt University square off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 13.