By Ron Smith
August 29, 2017
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) It proved to be a hard-fought battle in Murchison Gymnasium on Tuesday night, but in the end, #7 Westmont Volleyball (8-1) prevailed over the Pioneers of Antelope Valley (4-4) in straight sets in front of a boisterous and supportive home crowd in Murchison Gymnasium.
 
"I think that the crowd was unbelievable," said Cook. "That was so much fun playing in front of that energetic of a crowd. I was blown away with how many fans were there. What it also did was bring on a little bit of nerves. We have played all our matches on the road with a very small crowd. Even though the crowd was on our side, we definitely had to move past some nerves."
 
The first two sets proved to be nail bitters with both going extra play. Westmont fought off several Pioneer set points to eventually prevail 32-30 in the opening frame. Then in the second set, with the Warriors trailing 24-19, Westmont produced an 8-1 run to claim a 27-25 victory. In the final set, Westmont turned an 11-11 tie into a runaway by scoring 14 of the final 15 points.
 
During the match, Westmont setters established a new record for the most assists (53) in a three-game match.  The previous record of 52 was set in 2007 against California Baptist in a losing effort. That was at a time when sets were played to 30 points.
 
Junior right side hitter Cassidy Rea and freshman outside hitter Hali Galloway led the Warriors with 13 kills apiece. Rea did not commit an attack error and netted a .500 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Libby Dahlberg added 10 kills while producing a 529 attack percentage.
 
"Cassidy was on fire on the right side," said Cook. "She was absolutely unloading. You see her coiled up with that left arm and then unload. It was fun to watch her approach with her aggressiveness and her swing.
 
"It was also fun to see Libby take advantage of the one-on-one blocking opportunities that she got quite often."
 
Freshman outside hitter Brooklynn Cheney, who played all the way around in the rotation, tallied 29 serve receptions and 17 digs in the contest. Lauren Friis, a freshman defensive specialist, added 21 digs and 10 serve receptions.
 
"Our freshman outsides are doing a great job," noted Cook. "Brooklynn is an unbelievable backrow player. She reads the defense and the block super well. I'm very proud of both her serve receive passing and her defense."
 
This weekend, Westmont will head to the Bay Area to participate in the Menlo Tournament. On Friday, the Warriors will take on Montana State-Northern and Providence Christian. Saturday will see the Warriors face off against Johnson & Wales (Colo.) and Rocky Mountain (Mont.)