Box Score

By Ron Smith

Despite improving its record to 24-0 (9-0 in conference) with a 3-1 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over William Jessup (9-12, 2-7 GSAC), Westmont Volleyball head coach Patti Cook was singing the blues about the play of her team.

"We did not play up to our potential," noted the undefeated coach. "I thought we were a little lackadaisical. It showed pretty early in the match and William Jessup definitely took advantage of that. They are a well-coached team, they have a lot of fire and they are pretty scrappy. I felt like we didn't come prepared to play our best."

After taking the first two sets by identical comfortable margins of 25-16, the Warriors' had trouble harmonizing in the third set and lost 25-23. It was the first time this season that Westmont has lost a set in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

"We just didn't play our game," lamented Cook. "We were playing a little timid and we can't get into that. Once we were playing timid, our passing started to fall apart. Our hitters were doing a nice job of tipping early on, then William Jessup adjusted to it and rather than getting back to being very aggressive with high swings, we stayed kind of timid. It isn't our game. It's not how we like to play. William Jessup did a nice job of trying to force us into that and we didn't answer back until the fourth set."

The Warriors resolved the discordant notes of the third set by hitting a crescendo with a familiar refrain in the fourth that echoed the melodious score of 25-16 from the first two verses.

"As much as we don't like to lose a set, I think it can be a very invigorating thing," said Cook. "We realized we weren't playing the best and we needed to pick it up. This team in particular is good at not getting rattled when we get down or lose a beat. They just get determined. They don't let up. They start to push harder."

There were some encouraging tones in what, after all, was a win. Libby Dahlberg hit a remarkable .636 putting the ball on the floor for 16 kills out of 22 attempts.

"It felt like every single time she went up to put the ball away, she did," said Cook. "She owned the net in that way. She also was blocking pretty well.

"Alexa (Nestlerode) played pretty solid," offered the coach. "Her serving was great and she was making some very nice sets. Kami's (Troesh) passing was very good."

Nestlerode notched 27 assists while Troesh posted 13 serve receptions and 13 digs. Jessica McCann added 10 kills with a .333 hitting percentage while Taylor Beckman and Sam Neely added nine kills each. Mila Maricic tallied eight kills and posted a .400 hitting percentage.

Fortunately, the Warriors won't have to wait long to get this song out of their heads. Tomorrow afternoon at two, Westmont will host the Oaks of Menlo (11-11, 3-5).