BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 3, 2023) - In a match filled with debuts, the Webber International University men's volleyball team hosted Life University for its 2023 home and season-opener on Friday night. The Warriors shook some early-match jitters and cruised to a 3-1 (19-25, 25-11, 25-19, 25-15) victory over the Running Eagles.

First-year head coach Roger Peluso kicked off his collegiate coaching career with a big conference victory on home court. It was the Appalachian Athletic Conference opener for both teams, although Life (1-2 overall, 0-1 AAC) had two games under their belt already. The Warriors (1-0, 1-0) hit a very solid .296 for the match while limiting the Running Eagles to just .091.

It took a bit for Webber to find its groove in the match offensively as they fell 25-19 in set number one. However, the team bounced back in a big way in set two as they hit a massive .480 and tallied 14 kills in total. The Warriors started off the set on a 7-1 run that was capped with kills by Andrea Di Paola and Gunter Perea Quevedo. Holding a 17-11 lead, Webber then went on an 8-0 run that included three kills from freshman Carson Barnes to close out the set and even the match.

The third set started off back-and-forth as both teams traded points all the way to 6-6. Webber took a five-point lead at 14-9 but Life quickly erased the advantage by scoring four-straight to cut the deficit to just one. Leading by one at 20-19, the Warriors then scored five-in-a-row including a kill by Peyten Young to take a 2-1 lead.

The Warriors kept their momentum going into the final set as they took an early 7-1 lead once again. A 6-2 run increased Webber's lead yet further to 13-5. Life was able to reduce the deficit to six, but that is as close as they would get for the remainder of the set.

Barnes led the way for the Warriors in his collegiate debut as he totaled a team-high 11 kills and added six digs as well. He was followed by Jackson Arnold who finished with career-highs in kills with 10 and digs with 12 to earn the first double-double of his career. Perea Quevedo recorded seven kills on .333 hitting and six digs to his credit. Di Paola had a well-rounded game as he tallied six kills, three aces, and contributed four total blocks on the defensive end. Young racked up 34 assists on the night and added five digs, four kills, and two blocks.

Webber plays back-to-back as it will now take on Reinhardt University at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 4th, in another conference showdown.