LAKELAND, Fla. (November 2, 2022) - The Webber International University women's volleyball team traveled to Southeastern University to battle the Fire for the second time this season on Wednesday night. A slow start plagued the Warriors as they fell behind early and were unable to battle back in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 28-26) defeat.

Despite playing a solid match defensively, the Warriors (13-15 overall, 3-10 SUN) struggled to get going offensively as they hit just .149 percent. Meanwhile, Southeastern (12-12, 8-5) finished with a hitting percentage of .224 percent and tallied 45 total kills for the match.

The first set began back and forth with the Warriors taking the lead on a few different occasions but the Fire matched them each time. Webber held a two-point lead at 17-15, but Southeastern caught fire as they went on a 10-0 run to end the set, earning the set one victory 25-17.

The Fire took an early 13-7 lead to begin the second set before a 7-2 run by the Warriors brought them back to within one at 15-14. Webber found itself still trailing 19-18 later in the set before Southeastern scored five in a row to take a 24-18 advantage. The Warriors scored once more before a kill by the Fire sealed the 2-0 lead for the home team.

A strong start from Webber in the third set saw it take an early 6-3 lead. The Warriors began slowly building upon that lead as the set progressed, leading by as many as seven at 18-11. A 6-1 run by the Fire trimmed the deficit to just two. Southeastern continued to chip away at Webber's lead until they ultimately took a one-point lead, 22-21. The set was forced into overtime as the two sides continued to battle it out. The Warriors were unable to hold off Southeastern as the Fire completed the sweep.

The Warriors were led by Bailey Sikkema who finished with a match-high 12 kills. She tallied 12 digs as well to earn her fifth double-double of the season. She was followed by Teodora Ranitovic and Cintia Lorena each with seven. Ana Clara Araujo led the team with 13 assists followed by Amanda Vega with nine assists and seven digs. Bailey Berger finished with eight digs while Nadia Reid ended with seven as well. Ranitovic finished with a match-high six total blocks followed closely by Sikkema with five.

Next up, Webber returns home for its regular-season finale and Senior Day against Crooked Lake rivals, Warner University, on Saturday, November 5th at 6 p.m. inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center.