Box Score

By Christy Cain

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.)  To some, tonight is just another Saturday night. But to three seniors on the Westmont women's volleyball team, it was the last time that they will ever compete in Murchison Gymnasium.

With the stands full of friends and family cheering them on, the team went out with a bang and defeated The Masters in four games (25-14, 26-28, 25-22, 25-13).

"I was telling the girls after the game that it was a really great team effort. We didn't play like individuals out there. We looked like a team and had great production from all areas of the court. I thought our seniors played with the same intensity that they have brought all season long. It was fun to see good games from each of them tonight, '" opened head coach Patti Cook.

After flowers were handed out, hugs were given and respect was paid to the seniors and their families, the Warriors took the court and never really looked back. There was a underlying motivation to not only get the seniors one final win in The Murch, but to compete well as a team in their last season home game together.

As with many of the matches this season, the Warriors were led by senior Madison Serrano. She earned a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs in her final performance at home. "Maddi's passing, digging and hitting effort were stellar. It was an all-around good game for her," complimented Cook.

In just a few days, Serrano will finish her career with over 1,372 kills and will rank among the top attack-leaders to ever come through the Westmont volleyball program.

"I'm also really proud of Ciena's performance and maturity on the court tonight. There were points where she almost started to get away from herself, but then was able to calm down, relax and make some adjustments," explained Cook.

The senior middle blocker was versatile in the front row, earning six kills on the evening.

The firecracker of the group, Heidi Thompson, had a team high of 29 assists this evening.

"Heidi did a nice job of keeping the team focused and having fun. She found a way for us to win tonight," raved Cook.

Thompson was finding her hot hitters and giving them the ball time and time again tonight.

The supporting crew of the seniors did a fantastic job this evening as well. Tag-teaming with Thompson tonight was Alexa Nestlerode who dished out 17 assists on the match.

"I thought that Alexa had a nice game and set some really great balls. She is very comfortable setting Sydney on the right side, so it is nice that they are both returning next season," explained Cook. "Jessica came out tonight with fire in her arm. People love seeing her do well because she is so dynamic, she works hard and is just a great person. It is nice to see her gain success in the last few games she has played in," Cook said.

McCann was a driving force behind tonight's offense and finished with eight kills and just one error.

"Sarah McGough is an understated hero. She doesn't make a lot of mistakes. She just keeps swinging away, hitting smart and making things happen. We went to her a decent amount tonight and she performed well," continued Cook.

McGough finished just behind Serrano with 11 kills and a couple of blocks. Not to be overlooked among all of the veterans is freshman Mila Maricic who played well beyond her years this evening. With 10 kills and zero errors, she earned an outstanding team high hitting percentage of .588.

"I really liked Mila's play tonight. She has a solid offense, but was caught my attention is that she touched a lot of balls on defense," explained Cook." There were a couple of plays where I didn't think there would be a block up, but she would come flying over and get a good soft block up there to help us slow things down a bit. She played above her freshman class tonight."

While their final dance on the big stage of Murchison Gymnasium is complete, the Warriors (17-13, 8-6 GSAC) still have two final away games to finish out this season. They will be taking on #3 Concordia on November 11 and will close out their season with Hope International on November 15.   [box]