Avon Park, FL – The Webber International Women's Volleyball team hosted the College of Coastal Georgia Mariners Wednesday night. Although the Warriors fought tough, they ultimately fell to the Mariners 3-0.
The Warriors and Mariners were tied early, as Teodora Ranitovic tallied the first kill for Webber, to go along with two errors to tie the game 3-3. Tanasha Cooksey and Nadia Reid were the next Warriors to pick up kills, before Ranitovic and Bailey Sikkema also picked up kills to retie the game 9-9. The Mariners proceeded to go on an eight-to-three run to take an 18-12 lead, with Jaizah Anderson and Reid picking up kills. Reid picked up another kill and a service ace to drop the deficit to four. The Mariners would get the lead back to six, before the Warriors went on a four-to-one run, with Anderson picking up a kill and part of a combination block with Ranitovic. A Coastal Georgia timeout with the score sitting at 21-18 ignited the Warriors, as they scored four of the next five to tie it at 22, with Sikkema picking up two kills as well as a combo block with Ranitovic. The Mariners got within one point of taking the set before Webber got three straight with a kill from Reid and a service ace from Andrea Padilla helping take a 25-24 lead. The Mariners tied it, then took a lead before Sikkema and Reid tied it for the Warriors at 27. Both teams traded points with Cooksey and Ranitovic picking up kills to tie it at 29 before the Mariners picked up the last two points to take set 1 31-29.
Coastal Georgia jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, with Sikkema being the bright spot with two kills. A kill from Savanna Wilhite put the Warriors down five. After another Mariner kill, The Warriors rattled off six straight points thanks in part to three different blocks and a service ace from Bailey Berger to tie it 10-10. Both teams split the next nine points, with Anderson picking up two kills, and Ranitovic and Sikkema picking up two combo blocks to bring the Warriors' deficit to one. The Mariners scored nine of the next 12 points with Wilhite, Anderson, and Ranitovic picking up the final kills for the Warriors as they dropped the second set 25-18.
Webber started out the third set with a lead, as Ranitovic, Cintia Lorena, and Wilhite picked up kills to take a 4-3 lead. Delanie Johnson and Wilhite picked up a combo block to keep the Warriors ahead by one. The Mariners took a lead on a Warrior error, and both teams traded the next nine points to tie it 11-11. Ranitovic picked up a kill, as well as a block with Reid, while Padilla added a service ace. The Warriors took a two-point lead off of kills from Lorena and Wilhite, as well as a service ace from Reid, 15-13. The Mariners scored four straight before Johnson got a kill, and Anderson and Ranitovic combined for a block to tie it at 17. Both teams traded the next seven points, with the Mariners grabbing a one-point lead 21-20. The Mariners would score four of the next five points to take set 3 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Sikkema led the team with seven kills, while Reid and Anderson had six apiece. Ranitovic led with 9 blocks, while Paysee Crow led the team with 28 assists, and Sydney Porter added three. Berger led the team with 21 digs, while Abigail Baxter and Crow each had seven.
The Warriors will be back in action on Friday, November 3rd, when they travel to Hialeah, Florida to take on the Florida National Conquistadors.
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