Brunswick, GA – The Webber International Women's Volleyball team traveled to Brunswick Georgia Wednesday evening to take on the College of Coastal Georgia Mariners. After a hard-fought battle, the Warriors came out victorious 3-2.
Kiersten Tisdale opened up set 1 with a service ace before an error from the Mariners and a kill from Tanasha Cooksey gave the Warriors an early 3-1 lead. The first set would prove to be tightly contested as both teams went back and forth with points. Savanna Wilhite, Bailey Sikkema, Jaizah Anderson, Teodora Ranitovic, and Nadia Reid all contributed with kills to give the Warriors a slim 13-12 lead in set 1. Webber would proceed to go on a 6-4 run with Cintia Lorena slamming two kills past the Mariner defense and Ranitovic picking up a solo block. The Mariners did not go down without a fight, as Coastal Georgia scored four straight to regain the lead at 20-19. Kills from Lorena, Ranitovic, Reid, Sikkema, and Wilhite as well as a Mariner error gave the Warriors set 1, 25-23.
Webber quickly jumped out to an 8-3 lead in set 2, as Lorena and Wilhite both picked up solo blocks, and Ana Clara Araujo added a service ace of her own. A Coastal Georgia timeout preceded a 6-2 run that put the Warriors up by nine points following kills from Lorena and Anderson, 14-5. Webber and Coastal Georgia both traded runs, with Sikkema picking up two kills, Andrea Padilla getting a service ace, and Araujo getting another to give the Warriors a 22-13 lead. Kills from Reid and Anderson would put the Warriors within one point of a set 2 victory, but Coastal Georgia would score five straight before Anderson put an exclamation point on set 2 with a kill to give the Warriors set 2, 25-19.
Set 3 started off similarly to the others as Webber and Coastal Georgia sat tied at 9-9, with Ranitovic, Sikkema, Lorena, and Anderson all picking up kills. Both teams traded points until Webber trailed 14-12. The Warriors proceeded to go on a four-point swing, with Sikkema and Lorena picking up kills, as well as Aruajo adding on another service ace. After the Mariners tied it at 16, the Warriors scored five of the next six to take a 21-17 with Lorena picking up three kills and Anderson getting the other two. This would be the last lead for the Warriors, as the Mariners scored eight straight points to take set 3 25-21.
The Warriors went down early in set 4 5-1, before they rattled off six straight points. This six-point swing featured five straight blocks for the Warriors, with Lorena, Wilhite, and Reid sharing the wealth. The Mariners went on a five-point run of their own, taking the lead 10-7. The Warriors responded by scoring five of the next six points with Lorena and Anderson picking up kills and blocks, to give the Warriors a 12-11 lead. Both teams traded runs, and a kill from Sikkema tied the game up at 17. The Mariners scored five straight, but the Warriors were not done yet. Reid fired three straight kills, before a Mariner error put the Warriors down one, 22-21. Webber scored three of the next four, capped off by another service ace from Padilla, but 24 would be the closest the Warriors got as Coastal Georgia rattled off three straight points to take set 4 26-24.
The Warriors went to set 5 for the second straight match against SUNC opponents, and after six points the set was tied 3-3. Two errors from the Mariners, and kills from Reid and Lorena put the Warriors ahead 7-4. The Mariners tied the game at 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, and 11-11, before Sikkema and Reid traded kills to sink the Mariners in set 5 15-11.
Sikkema led the Warriors with 16 kills, while Lorena added 15. Wilhite tied her season-high with seven blocks, with Lorena close behind with five. Araujo led the Warriors with 28 assists while Paysee Crow was right behind her with 27. Bailey Berger led the team with 22 digs, while Tisdale added 16.
The Warriors will be back in action on Saturday, October 7th when they host the Keiser Seahawks at the Panther Gym in Avon Park, FL.
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