SIESTA KEY, Florida – For the second consecutive year WIU's Beach Volleyball team attended the Annual Fiesta on Siesta Key. The event took place on Saturday, April 17 and lived up to its name as one of the largest women's collegiate volleyball events ever held. The festivities started at 10 a.m. with the opening ceremony being the presenting sponsor, 1st Place Volleyball's Jamie Oelke serving three wonderful official first serves. As the sun started to set on the white sand of Siesta around 8 p.m. ET so did the games of several WIU teams.
Although it was a long day for all nine teams it was worth the 10 hours in the sun. The teams, in random order were as follows, Trisha Belcher and Noelle Bay, Cindy Eurie and Tammy Zimmerman, Tiffany Malone and Krystal Steele, Molly Blackman and Mihok, Magen Carey and Heather Allshouse, Tammy Needham and Alicia Mohler, Taylor Smith and Kerri Romaniszyn, Sophie Zillmann and Andrea Wilkinson, and Julianne Dougherty and Kristina Reeves. The WIU teams contested with other collegiate teams such as UCF, USF, State College of Florida, University of Miami, FGCU, FAU, JU, St. Petersburg College, Notre Dame, UNF, Stetson, and SCAD.
There were two tournaments that WIU teams were participating in. The first was the “Seniors Only” tournament. This tournament only allowed seniors that no longer were eligible to play indoor volleyball. WIU had three teams that consisted of, Trisha Belcher and Noelle Bay, Cindy Eurie and Tammy Zimmerman, Tiffany Malone and Krystal Steele. Each team did well. Trisha Belcher and Noelle Bay however took excellence to a whole new level. As a team they qualified for 2010 Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship in Santa Barbara, CA.
The second tournament that WIU participated in was the 2nd Annual Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge. WIU had one team finish in gold, Julianne Dougherty and Kristina Reeves. WIU's other teams finished respectively in silver and bronze. Coach Edfors said after the long day, “I am very proud of all our teams, they represented Webber and our program very well and we all have high hopes for the 3rd annual tournament next year.”
By the end of a very long day at the beach, all WIU teams represented the school, its beach team, and Webber athletics with Warrior pride. The date has been set for April 16, 2011 for the third annual Fiesta on Siesta Key.
