Florida Trip Ends in Hard-Fought Defeat at Webber International

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

BABSON PARK, Fla. – The Eagles got up early on Saturday and hit the volleyball court for more Mid-South Conference (MSC) action in the Sunshine State, this time against Webber International (Fla.) inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center.

Reinhardt (4-13, 2-5 MSC) pushed the Warriors to the limit after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to force a deciding-set and a fifth game, but the hosts pulled the victory out in the end, 3-2 (20-25,14-25,25-23,25-21,10-15).

"As weird as it may sound coming off a loss, I'm hoping this can be a pivotal point for the team," head coach CJ Shearer said. "We've been talking a lot about staying in fights and battling; making sure we are representing ourselves well with our effort. Today, after set two, I thought we did that. The loss stings, but that's on me to make the guys better. They gave me everything they had and showed a lot of resilience against a solid Webber team. As a coach that's all I can ask for. We'll use this to fix some needed things and continue to get better, both physically and mentally. To God goes all the Glory."

Poor hitting performances in the first two sets put the hometown team down, 2-0, heading to a third-and-potentially final stanza with its back against the wall. The Eagles were able to then bounce back with two-consecutive positive decisions after hitting .233 and .250, respectively, as the errors went down drastically.

The two teams went back and forth in set five before Webber International put together four-consecutive scores to turn a one-point lead into a 13-8 score. The Eagles would fight off match point once to make the game 14-10, but the Warriors finished off the morning with a kill and a triumph. 

Matthew Corrales registered 16 kills and Chase Cross had 12. Ricardo Mujica put up 29 assists and 10 digs, while Reynaldo Medina led the way defensively with 12 digs.

Corrales and Cross both earned seven digs as well.

The blocking scheme was on-point for most of the match as Reinhardt totaled 24 blocks, with five players notching multiple assisted rejections.

Gerald Moore and Dalton Fellows each tallied a half-dozen assisted blocks.

The Eagles also found success at the serving line with 12 aces, led by four from Corrales and Mujica.

The road trip continues on Tuesday night at Life (Ga.).

First serve is set for 7 p.m.

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