By Ron Smith
October 17, 2017
 
(COSTA MESA, Calif.) After falling behind two sets to none, #7 Westmont Volleyball (25-3, 9-0 GSAC) rallied to claim a five-set Golden State Athletic Conference victory at Vanguard (14-6, 6-3) on Thursday night.
 
"It was no small feat. Vanguard is a solid team," said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. "They have some amazing hitters and incredible athletes. We came out flat against them and they took full advantage of it. It was a great crowd and they came out as the fired up home team.
 
"We knew that this game on our schedule, after the trip to Columbia (Mo.), was going to be rough," offered Cook. "We were a little flat in practice this week and that translated into how we started the game. The trip to Missouri definitely created some fatigue."
 
Westmont, which hit just .086 to Vanguard's .281 in the first two sets, lost the opening frames 25-17 and 25-15. However, the Warriors wrote a different story after the intermission.
 
"They gave us an eight-minute break between games two and three and that worked in our favor to help us press the reset button," said Cook. "We made a couple of tactical changes, but more than anything, it was a mental change that we made."
 
The Warriors flipped the script, hitting .300 while holding the Lions to .048 in the third set.
 
"My highlight of the match was the way that we came out in game three," said Cook. "After being beaten in games one and two, we could have been complacent and decided we were going to lose. Instead, we put our game faces on and decided to show up."
 
In the fourth set, Westmont had to rally once more to force a set five. The Warriors fell behind 15-10, causing Cook to call a timeout. The first two rallies after the timeout, saw Cassidy Rea produce a hit and Libby Dahlberg put up a solo block.
 
The next two points were scored by Vanguard on a Warrior service error and a block by Taylor Jackson and Hailey Gordon. Westmont then cut the deficit to three when Vanguard committed a setting error and Dahlberg notched a kill, making the score 18-15.
 
Vanguard regained a four-point edge on another block, this one by Gordon and Kamelah Noel. A kill by Taylor Beckman and an attack error by a Vanguard hitter brought the Warriors back to within two before Juanea Johnson put down a kill to make the score 20-17 in favor of the home team.
 
Back-to-back kills by Samantha Neely and Rea reduced the Lion's advantage to just one (20-19) before Vanguard called timeout. When play resumed, Rea struck again to tie the game at 20-20.
 
A kill by Vanguard's Shay Larson-Piper was matched by one from Beckman to make the score 21-21. When Larson-Piper struck again, Hali Galloway answered to make it a 22-22 game.
 
Cook then called upon Lindsay Paulo to serve for the Warriors. The result of her first serve was a Vanguard attack error, which gave Westmont its first lead in the fourth set since the score was 7-6. Paulo then served up an ace to achieve set point for the Warriors. Another Vanguard error gave Westmont the fourth-set win and tied the match at two sets apiece.
 
In the final set, the two teams were tied at three when Westmont scored twice on a kill be Dahlberg and a Lion attack error. Though Vanguard twice came within one point, Westmont never relinquished its lead. Up 7-6, Westmont score on eight of the next nine serves to secure the victory.
 
"Taylor was key for us tonight," said Cook. "She had some key digs and serve receives. Cassidy was great on offense. Amy Buffham was steady after the first two games. Hali was swinging hard and aggressive the entire match. It was in the previous game against Vanguard that she went down with an ankle sprain but she did not let that affect her at all. Lindsey came in at some key points in the match. She did a great job of serving and passing. Every time she stepped on the court she made a difference."
 
The Warriors will get little time to rest before taking the court again. On Saturday, Westmont will host Hope International (14-6, 6-3). The Royals posted a 3-1 win over The Master's (8-14, 3-6) this evening to move into a tie with Vanguard for second place. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.