Miami Gardens, FL – The Webber International Men's Volleyball team battled on the road Saturday afternoon, but the Warriors fell to St. Thomas in straight sets, 3-0, in conference play at Miami Gardens. The Bobcats took the match by set scores of 25-10, 25-20, and 25-20.
After a difficult opening set, Webber responded with stronger efforts in the second and third frames. The Warriors jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set and later stayed within striking distance before St. Thomas pulled away late for the 25-20 decision. In the third, Webber again showed resilience, trimming a late deficit and scoring four straight points to get within 24-20 before the Bobcats closed out the match.
Tinashe Makona led the Warriors offensively with seven kills, while Janis Dobelis added four kills and Gavin Patterson and Noah Riascos finished with two apiece. Max Kuhn also contributed a kill, and Brennan Porter chipped in one. Webber totaled 18 kills and five service aces in the match.
The Warriors received 10 assists from Talan Stephens and six more from Mateus Haubrich as they worked to keep the offense moving. Defensively, Riascos paced Webber with five digs, while Makona recorded three digs and Kuhn added three more. At the net, Porter was in on both of Webber's blocks, and Dobelis and Jordan Diaz each contributed to one block assist.
Dobelis also made an impact from the service line with a team-high two aces, while Patterson, Diaz, Haubrich, and Phoenix Gamble each added one. Despite the loss, Webber showed improvement after the first set by reaching the 20-point mark in each of the final two sets against a St. Thomas squad that hit .373 for the match.
St. Thomas was led by Dennis Morgan with nine kills and Michael Marsans and Erik Malek with seven each. Timothy Reyes directed the Bobcat offense with 29 assists, while Kaelen Ingram posted four service aces in the win.
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