By Ron Smith
October 20, 2018
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) With a three-game sweep of William Jessup (9-18, 4-13 GSAC), #17 Westmont (22-4, 13-3) moved a step closer to securing a bye in the opening round of the upcoming GSAC Tournament. The Warriors can clinch the bye by winning one of their two remaining regular season contests next week.
 
"Getting the bye would be ideal," said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. "The GSAC is a grueling tournament. If you can eliminate one of those matches it definitely helps your chances."
 
Westmont won the match against William Jessup by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20.
 
"WJU is a tough team - they always play with a lot of heart and are a good athletic team," said Cook. "It was not a game we went into lightly.
 
"We also came into it with a lot of heart. Having had a five-setter last night and then driving two and one-half hours after that, we could have let off the gas and used the excuse of being tired. But, we worked really hard, worked through our fatigue and focused in."
 
Right-side hitter Cassidy Rea tallied 10 kills while posting a .400 attack percentage.
 
"Cassidy did a nice job of using her vision and hitting around the block efficiently," reported Cook. "She was hitting hard with a lot of pace on it. She also put up a nice block for us against their athletic outside hitters who can hit the ball hard."
 
Outside hitters Brooklynn Cheney and Hali Galloway recorded 10 and nine hits respectively.
 
"Hali and Brooklynn did a nice job at a point in the game when our passing got a little shakier," said Cook. "They were getting high sets out to them, but they were aggressive and went after the swing, or tried to make a smart shot."
 
Setter Amy Buffham notched 38 assists for the Warriors.
 
"Amy had to block, run around and set for five sets last night, and then had to do it again today," reported Cook. "She showed a lot of grit and resilience. It can get tiring in that position where you put your hand on every ball. She stepped up to the plate again tonight."
 
In other GSAC action, #11 The Master's suffered a three-set upset (25-12, 25-15, 25-23) by Menlo (13-8, 10-7). Vanguard (24-6, 11-5), who is ranked 15th, defeated Arizona Christian (14-9, 10-7) by a score of 3-1 while Ottawa (15-12, 8-9) defeated San Diego Christian (7-20, 1-15) in five sets.
 
The Master's continues to hold the top spot in the GSAC standings but is now just one game ahead of Westmont. Vanguard is in third place, two games behind the Warriors. Menlo and Arizona Christian are tied for fourth, one and a half games behind Vanguard. One-half game farther back is Hope International in sixth.
 
Westmont will close out the regular season by hosting Hope International on Friday and San Diego Christian on Saturday. First serve for both games is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.