Sarasota, FL – The Webber International Beach Volleyball team split its two matches Friday at the SUN Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament in Sarasota, opening the day with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Loyola New Orleans before falling 3-0 to Ave Maria. Against Loyola, the Warriors picked up victories at the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 flights to secure the team win, while Ave Maria later claimed the match with straight-set wins at three flights.

In the opener, Webber showed its depth in a tightly contested dual. At the top flight, Abigail Baxter and Kaylee Hunt rallied after dropping the second set to defeat Madeline Corrall and Kala Emanuelli, 21-17, 14-21, 15-12. The Warriors also got a strong straight-set performance at No. 3 from Bryanna Marks-Craig and Vivianne Cancio, who earned a 21-15, 21-16 win, and Abby Leonard with Brianna Adams closed out another straight-set victory at No. 5, 21-17, 21-17, to help Webber clinch the 3-2 decision. Loyola earned its points at No. 2 against Samantha Gomez and Addison Flom and No. 4 against Kalyn Morgan and Hailey Mull, but the Warriors' three flight wins were enough to take the dual.

In the second match of the day, Webber ran into a strong Ave Maria lineup and was unable to recover after the Gyrenes captured the opening three flights. Hunt and Baxter battled at No. 1 and pushed the opening set to extra points taking the first set 30-28, before their second set was cut short, while Marks-Craig and Cancio forced a third set at No. 3 after winning the opener 21-19 before theirs was cut short as well. Ave Maria took the No. 2, No.4 and No 5. flights in straight sets to claim the victory.

Webber will now look to take on Crooked Lake Rivals Warner University in the loser's bracket at 9:00 AM

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