By Jarred Davis
November 28, 2018
 
(SIOUX CITY, Iowa.) After defeating #18 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) late last night, #15 Westmont Volleyball rallied from a two-set-to-one deficit to defeat the Mustangs of Morningside (Iowa) 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9) at the NAIA Championship.
 
The Warriors now are 2-0 in pool play and have clinched a spot in Friday's 16-team single-elimination bracket.
 
"We played a very good Morningside team," said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. "They had some strong arms and they were discipline on their block. There are no easy teams in the national tournament and we knew that coming in. I am really proud of how my team preserved and were relentless in their play."
 
The Warriors posted a .239 attack percentage and held the Mustangs to .184. Westmont totaled 66 kills on 180 attempts and recorded 24 blocks on the night, compared to 10 for Morningside.
 
Westmont was led by two seniors, middle blocker Samantha Neely tallied 15 kills and setter Amy Buffham recorded 53 assists and 11 digs on a night where each play was more pivotal than the next.  
 
"Amy played really well, she played steady and was able to keep her head even when things started to not go our way," said Cook.
 
Hali Galloway and Brooklyn Cheney combined for 28 kills and 18 digs, adding 14 kills apiece and recording 11 and 7 digs respectively.
 
"I thought that our outside hitters in Haley and Brooklyn stayed aggressive with their swings and as the game went on, they only got better," said Cook.
 
The Mustangs and Warriors came out with a ton of energy, trading points back and forth in a seesaw first set. However, Morningside was able to capture an 18-13 advantage, as the Warriors fought hard but dropped the set (22-25).
 
In the second set, Westmont led 20-14 before the Mustangs were forced to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Neely recorded a kill and propelled the Warriors to close out the match with a 5-2 run.
 
Sets three and four were similar to how the game started, while both teams gave all they had to try and gain an edge. The Mustangs created space and jumped out to an early 11-7 lead before the Warriors called timeout.
 
Morningside produced a .244 attack percentage, tallying 18 kills compared to the Warriors' 11 kills and a .111 percentage, which led to the Mustangs taking set three.
 
"There were definitely some ups and downs that I would like to be less characteristic at the National Tournament, but we didn't let that sway us from our ultimate goal of taking away the win," said Cook.
 
In the final two sets, Westmont found a rhythm and never looked back. The Mustangs trailed 22-24 before Cheney put the game-tying match away with a vicious kill that sparked momentum heading into the final set.
 
After an early 3-1 advantage for the Warriors, Morningside called a timeout, but Westmont responded with another 5-2 run. The Mustangs got as close as 12-8, but the Warriors ultimately closed out the set tallying eight kills on 25 attempts.
 
"In game five, it's always anybody's game," said Cook. "We played really well with a lot of energy and fire."
 
Thursday, Westmont will match-up with #2 Park (Mo.) at 8:00 p.m. The Pirates of Park come into the match with a (31-1) record, most recently defeating #18 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20) Wednesday night in pool play.
 
"Park is the strongest in our pool and they've had a historically strong program," added Cook.
 
"They are one of those teams who are really fun to face against because of their really high level and super steady play. We have to play really good volleyball consistently throughout the entire match in order to be able to beat them."