BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (April 8, 2021) – The fifth-seeded Webber International University men's volleyball team got off a good start at the 2021 Mid-South Conference Tournament and earned its first postseason win in program history, taking down fourth-seeded Life University 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21) during the MSC Quarterfinals.

During the day before the start of the conference tournament, the Mid-South Conference announced its 2021 men's volleyball All-MSC team. For Webber, senior Chris Ludwig and freshman Gunter Perea Quevedo were both named Second-Team All-Conference while senior Daniel Hermida earned Honorable Mention All-Conference. So far during each of its three years as a member of the Mid-South Conference, Webber has had three players earn all-conference honors. Last but not least, freshman Peyten Young was named the Warriors' Champion of Character Nominee.

Against the Running Eagles, all three of the Warriors' all-conference picks reached double digits in kills while two of them also had double-doubles.

Ludwig led Webber with a season-high 16 kills on a .444 attack percentage, and added a new career-high in digs with 14 to record what was the first double-double of his career.

Hermida was next with 11 kills, and added a new career-high in digs with 12 for his second double-double in a row, third of the season and fifth of his career overall. He also set a new career-high in blocks with five.

Perea Quevedo finished with 10 kills on a .316 attack percentage, and Zachary Ayala added nine kills on a .389 attack percentage.

Dishing out the assists for Webber was Justin Beecher with 31 and Young with 20.

With the two teams tied at 21-21 in the first set, Webber won it with four straight points on a kill by Ayala, an attack error by Life, an assisted block by Ludwig and Perea Quevedo, and lastly, a kill by Ludwig to end it.

The two teams were tied again late in the third set, this time at 17-17 before back-to-back kills by Perea Quevedo and Young made it 19-17 Warriors. An assisted block by Hermida and Young then made it 21-19, a kill by Hermida made it 22-20, a kill by Ayala made it 23-21, a kill by Beecher made it 24-22, and finally, another kill by Perea Quevdo gave Webber the 2-1 set advantage.

Webber hit .320 percent in the first set and an even better .424 percent in the third set.

Tied again at 19-19 in the fourth set, Webber went up by two again after a kill by Perea Quevedo and an ace by Luis Gustavo Silva. A kill by Hermida followed by back-to-back kills by Ludwig made it 24-20 Warriors, and then Ludwig finished off the match with yet another kill.

With what was its second win this year over Life, Webber improved to 12-10 overall and will now face the winner of the matchup between top-seeded and No. 3 nationally-ranked Campbellsville University (Ky.) and eighth-seeded Midway University (Ky.). The Warriors' semifinal matchup against either Campbellsville or Midway will take place at 6 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. CST at Bowling Green High School. During the regular season, the Warriors defeated Midway 3-1, and also took Campbellsville to five sets before falling 15-11 in the fifth set.

"It was a great win for the guys today, and we did a good job of keeping the momentum we have gathered over the last few matches," said Coach Carlos Jimenez. "We lost our focus on the second set, but the guys were able to come together as a team to get back to feeling in control. We look forward to the next matchup tomorrow."
 

Webber's All-Mid-South Conference Selections:

Chris Ludwig – Second-Team All-Mid-South Conference – senior from Fort Pierce, Florida – Played in a team-high 72 sets on the season and led the team both in kills (166, 2.31 kills per set) and digs (110). Added 32 blocks and 13 service aces. Ranked 12th in the Mid-South Conference in kills and was 15th in digs. Recorded 14 kills twice, and had 12 digs at home against Reinhardt (Mar. 13). Was named to the Judson Early Bird Invitational All-Tournament Team on February 15.

Gunter Perea Quevedo – Second-Team All-Mid-South Conference – freshman from Bogotá, Colombia – Played in 50 sets and recorded 94 kills and 43 total blocks. Was first on the team with nine solo blocks. Was ranked No. 41 in the NAIA in blocks per set (.86) and was 44th in hitting percentage (.330 percent). Was tied for fourth in the Mid-South Conference in blocks per set, was ninth in hitting percentage and was 12th in total blocks. Had a career-high 14 kills at Warner (Mar. 16), and had a career-best seven blocks against Cumberland (Feb. 26).

Daniel Hermida – Honorable Mention All-Mid-South Conference – senior from Orlando, Florida – Played in 53 sets and recorded 150 kills (2.83 kills per set), 80 digs, 27 service aces and 24 blocks. Led Webber in both kills per set and in service aces. Was ranked No. 15 in the NAIA in service aces per set (0.51) and was 23rd in total aces. In the Mid-South Conference, he was tied for third in service aces per set, was eighth in total service aces, was tied for 13th in kills per set, and was 15th in total kills. Had a season-high 17 kills in Webber's upset win over Life (Mar. 11), recorded 11 digs twice, and tied his career-high with five service aces at St. Andrews (Mar. 20).