Box Score

By Christy Cain

(PHOENIX, Ariz.) It was quick night in Phoenix as the Warriors had a much needed three game sweep against Arizona Christian University (25-22, 25-18, 25-18). The last four matches that Westmont has played have all gone to five games. But tonight, there was a certain feeling of determination as the Warriors stepped onto the court. Enough with the long, exhausting five game sets. They had made the trek down to Arizona and tonight they were going to win in three. Their performance on the court reflected their determination. It was evident that the team was on a mission.

"It was a fun game to watch. I wasn't sure how we would play after leaving Santa Barbara at five o'clock this morning and having an eight hour drive. But the girls came out fired up," assessed head coach Patti Cook.

From the beginning of the match, Westmont's setters were spreading out their offense to hitters who were consistently putting the ball on the ground. Setters Heidi Thompson and Alexa Nestlerode continue to split court time every match and tonight they happened to finish with the exact same stats. In an excellent tag-team performance, each one of them accounted for 21 assists and three digs. After being held back from a recent injury for the last couple of games, senior Madison Serrano took the court by storm tonight in a truly "captain-like" way.  The Arizona native tallied 17 kills, seven digs and two blocks to help lead her team to a victory in her home state.

"Madison and Heidi played well in their home state. Our offense was firing on all cylinders and we got excellent production from our hitters," mentioned Cook.

Ciena Colburn and Mila Maricic made a dynamic senior-freshman duo in the middle tonight. Colburn's seven kills earned her an impressive .778 hitting percentage while Maricic raked in eight kills on the evening.

"One of the highlights of the night was when I put Sarah Pierson in back row for Taylor in the second game. Sarah played great defense and went on to get 12 kills in two sets," closed out Cook.

Pierson was accompanied by Libero Kami Troesh who tallied a team high of 15 digs tonight. With the win, the Warriors progress to 14-11 overall and 5-5 in conference play.

Their road trip continues as they drive over to El Cajon, Calif. to play San Diego Christian this Saturday at 1 PM.   box