By Ron Smith
October 28, 2017
 
(PHOENIX) Samantha Neely tallied 13 kills and Taylor Beckman added 10 more as #7 Westmont Volleyball (27-3, 11-0 GSAC) swept Arizona Christian (12-13, 3-9) in a Golden State Athletic Conference match. Neely posted a hitting percentage of .391 while Beckman's was .292.
 
With the win, Westmont has clinched at least a share of the Golden State Athletic Conference regular season championship, the number one seed the upcoming GSAC Tournament and a first-round bye. The Warriors will have an opportunity to win the title outright tomorrow night when they take on San Diego Christian (9-15, 2-8) in Santee.
 
As a team, the Warriors hit .280 for the match while holding their opponents to -.009. Cassidy Rea and Hali Galloway each contributed seven kills while Libby Dahlberg and Emma Harrah notched five apiece.
 
Tied at two in the opening frame, Westmont took control by scoring on seven of the next eight serves. Neely had two kills during the stretch while Beckman and Rea added one each. Beckman and Harrah also teamed up for block.
 
After surrendering the next two points to the Firestorm, Westmont scored nine of the next 11 points to claim an 18-7 advantage. Dahlberg tallied four kills during the run, Galloway two, and Rea and Beckman one each. One point came via a block by Dahlberg and Neely. The Firestorm would get no closer than nine points the rest of the set.
 
Westmont trailed 4-3 in the second set before scoring on 14 of the next 15 serves. Kills came from Beckman (3), Neely (2), Harrah (2) and Brooklynn Cheney.
 
In the third set, Arizona Christian took the early lead. Down 16-13, however, Westmont produced an 8-2 run to go ahead 21-18.  The Firestorm scored on a kill by Jackie Stein to make it a 21-19 score, but the Warriors took four of the last five points to claim the victory.
 
Amy Buffham, the reigning GSAC Setter of the Week, recorded 26 assists for the Warriors. Beckman notched 13 serve receptions and 13 digs while Cheney tallied 15 serve receptions and seven digs. Libero Lauren Friis contributed eight serve receptions and 16 digs.
 
Next week, the Warriors will finish up the regular season with home games against William Jessup on Friday evening and Menlo on Saturday afternoon.
 
The GSAC Championships, which will be held in Santa Clarita at The Master's, begin with the quarterfinals on Friday, November 10.  Westmont will begin tournament play in the semifinals on Saturday morning, November 11. The championship game will be played later that evening.