Webber Athletics
Ricky Baptist, Director of Sports Information
BABSON PARK, Fla. – In anticipation for its inaugural season set to begin this Fall, the Webber International University men’s beach volleyball team competed its first preseason event this past weekend.
Some of the Webber players were invited to participate in the Tybee Island edition of the EVP Tour, as they are getting ready to start their inaugural season this fall.
Due to the pandemic, some of the regular summer events have been postponed, but the teams were glad to have the possibility to get some time in the sand in Georgia.
Some of the returners at Webber who are also a part of the Warriors’ indoor men’s volleyball program got to compete against incoming freshmen on the beach, as well as recruits and local players.
At the end of a long day of competition, Justin Beecher and Danny Hermida worked together to make it all the way to the finals of the Open Division, where they would face off against two incoming freshmen for the Warriors, Blake Oliver and Jack Sukeena. The pairs split the first two sets and were unable to finish the match due to tropical storm Isaias causing the courts to be water logged. The two teams will finish their match at Webber in the upcoming weeks.
“Danny and I started off strong, but then some of the tough Tybee Island conditions kicked in,” Beecher said. “It was a combination of hot sand and shelly beach and some of the harder teams in the draw that put us in a slump, but we were able to overcome the adversity and came out with an automatic but into the playoffs. During the finals, we battled it out and took the lead until Mother Nature decided to flood our court. It is a great start to the new beach season, and we are both exited to be part of the program.”
“The Tybee Beach Tournament was a great learning opportunity for our team and a good way to evaluate our level of play,” Hermida said. “We knew that the day was going to be long so we tried our best to conserve energy to make it to finals. The finals were going well for us until the high tide hit, and sadly we weren’t able to finish, but we will definitely have a rematch.”
Another pair of incoming student-athletes at Webber also had great results in the event. Incoming freshman Peyten Young and graduate student Logan McAllister tied for third place in a very competitive draw for the Men’s Pro Division. After some rough pool play results, they were able to make it to the playoffs for a match up against the top-seeded team in the event.
“Logan Mcallister and I tied for third place in the EVP at Tybee Island in the blazing heat,” Young said. “The tournament was well-ran with a lot of really good teams. I’m glad Webber gave me the chance to play some good ball in Georgia.”
“It was a great event for the guys to participate in and use to get ready for their season,” said Head Coach Carlos Jimenez. “We are thankful that some of these events are running so we can have our athletes compete during these extraordinary times. it is exciting for me to see things come together for this inaugural season and to see type of talent we are bringing in compete alongside our returners.”