HICKORY, N.C. — Capping a stellar career from her setter position, Catawba Valley Community College volleyball player Emilee Webber signed on Tuesday to continue her athletic career at Belmont Abbey College.
Webber becomes the 27th Red Hawk volleyball player to sign with a four-year institution and the second CVCC volleyball player to sign with the Crusaders, joining former Catawba Valley standout Aimee Cloninger (2013-15).
"It's definitely exciting," Webber said of signing on Tuesday. "This has been a goal since I ever started playing volleyball just to keep continuing playing on. This is the next level for me, and I couldn't have done it without the program here at Catawba Valley and my coaches, teammates and everyone encouraging me. I'm very happy."
A sophomore from Denver, N.C., Webber finished her Catawba Valley volleyball career with 1,520 assists, which are the third-most in a Red Hawk career. She's also the third CVCC volleyball player to tally 1,000 career assists.
The North Lincoln High School product played in 82 career matches (273 sets), tallying 222 kills, 149 aces, 612 digs and accounting for 385 points.
Beyond her stats, Catawba Valley head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson believes that Webber's biggest contribution to her program has been her support on and off the court.
"Emilee is a servant leader. I think that's a good way to describe her," Hudson said. "If any of our hitters wanted to get extra touches, (assistant) coach Mark (Wimberley) would say to bring a setter. Emilee would come every time. She was always here trying to help make the team better as a whole. She is a very selfless, dedicated player.
"We are really going to miss her next year — from her leadership to her setting ability," Hudson added. "She is such a precision setter. She knew her hitters really well and got the ball to them. She and (middle hitter) Emma (Clark) really connected this year. We are definitely going to miss her presence on the court for sure."
Webber and fellow sophomores Emily Williams, Karsyn Mundy and Na-Diea Atkins helped guide a group of 16 freshmen on the volleyball court this past fall, leading them to a 36-10 overall record and a seventh-straight conference championship.
The Red Hawks also finished the 2018 volleyball season with a ninth-place national finish — the second-highest finish in program history — and three national tournament wins for the first time in program history.
Webber will never forget her sophomore season.
"Working through the season together and fixing little kinks in the system and finally playing together at the end and going as far as we did — I couldn't expect anything less," Webber said. "I'm just super proud of the group as a whole. I'm happy how it ended."