By Ron Smith
November 28, 2017
 
(SIOUX CITY, Iowa) Junior middle blocker Libby Dahlberg tallied 12 kills and senior outside hitter Taylor Beckman recorded 11 as #6 Westmont Volleyball recorded a 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20) victory over Saint Xavier of Illinois at the NAIA Championships. The match was the first of three pool play games for the Warriors.
 
Dahlberg notched her 12 kills on 25 attempts to record a .400 attack percentage. Beckman, who plays all six positions, also posted 18 serve receptions without an error and collected 18 digs.
 
"Libby and Taylor played very well," said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. "They played like their all-conference selves.
 
"We took care of a couple of first game jitters," said Cook of her squad that was playing for the first time in 17 days. "Overall, I was pleased with how we handled the pressure. That was the big unknown coming into this. We know how we play when we are up and how we play when we are down, but the question was, 'How we are going to play in a big setting like this?' That question was answered and I am very excited for the rest of the tournament with what I saw from this first match."
 
The Warriors had some adjustments to make in the first half. With the score tied at 13, Saint Xavier went on a 4-1 lead, the result of four Cougar blocks. Alex Lambros produced a solo block and then teamed up with Courtney Joyce for the next three.
 
The Cougars' success in shutting down the net prompted Cook to call a timeout to discuss attack strategy.
 
"Saint Xavier's blocking in the first set was really good," acknowledge Cook. "We encouraged our hitters to go hit hard and high. That is our theme with our hitters. You are going to find a lot of success if you blast off of hands instead of forearms. We encouraged them to keep being aggressive with their approach. They can be dynamic with their wrists and with their hands and they needed to know they could do that in this kind of a setting."
 
The change in approach worked, and Westmont closed out the first set on an 11-4 run to claim a one-set-to-none lead. Dahlberg produced two kills during the run while Beckman, Hali Galloway and Samantha Neely contributed one each.
 
The diversity of Westmont's attack, represented in the above run, kept the Cougars off balance.
 
"Our setters really spread the wealth," said Beckman.
 
Westmont had just a .160 attack percentage, but held the Cougars to .106.
 
"Our offense was down, but at this level, we expect the (opponents) defenders and blockers to be better and we expect them to have done their homework and have a scouting report on us," said Cook. "I think it was a little bit of a surprise for us because we are used to dominating teams with our offense, but that is the learning curve that happens at the national tournament."
 
Defensively, the Warriors sparkled.
 
"All of our serve receivers – Taylor, Lauren Friis and Brooklynn Cheney did a great job of passing," noted Dahlberg.
 
"Brooklynn was really solid on defense," said Cook, "We've come to expect that from her."
 
Cheney tallied 25 serve receptions without and error and added seven digs. Friis recorded 12 serve receptions and 17 digs. Galloway also had 12 serve receptions.
 
"Everyone stepped it up in different areas," noted Cook. "I was pleased with how Hali kept on coming up and swinging hard. I really liked Amy Buffham's steady setting. She was also digging well for us. Cassidy Rea started to pick it up a lot with her blocking. That was big for us on the right side. She got up some key blocks."
 
"I though Sam did really well bringing the fire in her swing," added Dahlberg.
 
Tied at 10 in the second set, Westmont produced a 10-3 run to take control of the set. Neely put away four kills during the stretch, Dahlberg added two and Rea and Galloway each added one. Dahlberg also contributed a solo block and Neely and Emma Harrah teamed up for another. Camryn Kaina finished the run with one of the Warrior's six ace serves.
 
The third set got away from the Warriors when the Cougars produced three-straight kills to turn a 22-22 tie into a set victory for Saint Xavier. Bridget Krasowski recorded two of the kills, sandwiched around one by Rory Manion.
 
Asked her response to the third set loss, Dahlberg replied, "At first I was a little bummed, but then I thought, 'We have this other set and we need to put it away. Let's get it down right now.'"
 
As in the second set, Westmont pulled away with the score tied at 10. This time, the Warriors scored on nine of the next 12 rallies to take a 19-13 advantage. Dahlberg provided two of the kills with Harrah, Rea and Beckman adding one each. Buffham produced her second service ace of the match to add to the run. Dahlberg and Galloway contributed one block while Beckman and Harrah another in what proved to be the decisive run.
 
The Warriors continue pool play the next two days. On Wednesday, Westmont will take on Marion (Ind.) at 2:00 p.m. CST. Thursday, Westmont will match-up with #11 Midland (Neb.) at 4:00 p.m. In today's other Pool F game, Midland defeated Marion 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-20).
 
The top two teams from the pool will advance to the 16-team single-elimination bracket that will begin on Friday morning and conclude with the championship game on Saturday evening.
 
"I feel like everyone worked super hard to be here," said Beckman about her team. "We are not peaking yet. Our goal is to peak at the last game when we win."
 
"To be here is the end of everything we wanted," said Dahlberg of participating in the championship tournament. "I not only want to win, but I want to prove ourselves. I want other teams to see us and know how good we are."