By Ron Smith
November 3, 2018
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Wearing her traditional red high-heeled shoes for Senior Night, Westmont head coach Patti Cook watched her #15 Westmont Warriors close out the regular season with a three-game sweep of San Diego Christian (25-10, 25-11, 25-23). It was the 13th win in a row for the Warriors.
 
"That was an emotional match," said Cook. "I thought we played well through the emotions."
 
The emotions started by honoring three seniors before they took the court for the final home regular season match of their careers. Setter Amy Buffham of Saugus, right side hitter turned middle blocker Samantha Neely of Whittier and middle blocker Libby Dahlberg of Sacramento were recognized for the contributions to the Warrior program.
 
"The crowd was great cheering them on," said Cook of the response by fans to the seniors being introduced. "It was good to honor them for the past four years of their efforts and everything they have put into this program. They have made us a better program.
 
Westmont scored the first seven points of the match, including a pair of kills from Neely. The Warriors then claimed eight of the next 10 points with Neely delivering three more kills to make the score 15-2.
 
Perhaps the most touching part of the night came with the Warriors leading 16-3 in the first set. That is when Cook called on Dahlberg to enter the game for the first time in 13 matches. Dahlberg has been sidelined since sustaining an injury on September 22. Cook had arranged for Dahlberg to take the court to serve and then to remain behind the service line and not get involved in the play.
 
When Dahlberg began to move toward the sideline to enter the game, the rest of the bench erupted in cheers. When the senior's entry into the game was announced over the public address system, the fans rose to their feet in applause.
 
"The crowds' response to Libby coming in for a serve was unbelievable," sad Cook. "It is a moment I am going to remember for a long time. It was hard for her, because she wishes she could have stayed out there, but obviously she could not."
 
After serving the ball, Dahlberg instinctively took a step or two onto the court before retreating again beyond the service line. Unfortunately, the rally resulted in a point for the Hawks. Dahlberg was replaced by Neely on the court, bringing an end to her playing days on Kammerer Court.
 
"I'm not a public crier," said Cook, "but I almost lost it and had to choke back tears when Libby came off the court."
 
The second set was much like the first, with the Warriors jumping out to a 6-0 lead before surrendering a point. The third set, however, was a different story.
 
"In sets one and two, we played a high level, solid, disciplined volleyball," assessed Cook. "I was really happy about that. I have a lot of respect for how San Diego Christian turned it on and found a different gear in set three. We saw a completely different team across the net than we had the last two sets. They played with a lot of passion and fire and fearlessness. That took us back for a few minutes and we had to recover from that panic and get back to playing our game. I was proud of the way we recovered and played through that."
 
The Hawks jumped out to a 7-3 lead before Westmont rallied to tie the score at eight. However, San Diego Christian scored the next six points, going up 14-8. Still down 17-11, Westmont put together a 6-1 run on two kills by Brooklynn Cheney and one each by Cassidy Rea and Neely.
 
Down 21-19, Westmont finally broke through with a 4-0 run that included two more kills by Rea. The teams then traded points until Cheney delivered the final blow at 25-23 to secure the victory.
 
Neely led the way offensively for the Warriors, tallying 12 kills while posting a .421 attack percentage. Cheney added 10 kills and hit .353. Cheney also contributed 11 digs and 16 serve receptions. Rea recorded seven kills and a .375 attack percentage. Buffham notched 30 assists.
 
"Amy was putting up very hittable balls all across the net," noted Cook. "I especially like what I saw out of her and Sam in the quick transition plays. Sam didn't have someone up in front of her because they made it so quick. It was a Libby-esque type of transition where she got up quick in transition on a broken play and the defense was not ready for it. It is fun to see Sam finding that step and being up and available in transition."
 
The Warriors finished the season in second place in the GSAC standings and will be the number two seed in the upcoming GSAC Tournament hosted by Hope International.
 
Having earned a bye in the quarterfinals, Westmont will await a semifinal match-up with the winner of Hope International (16-14, 9-9) and #18 Vanguard (25-7, 12-6). Those same teams played tonight with Vanguard prevailing in five sets, winning the fifth set 15-13.
 
The other quarterfinal match-up will feature Arizona Christian (15-9, 11-7) and Menlo (14-8, 11-7). The winner will take on top-seeded and 13th ranked The Master's (27-5, 16-2) in the first semifinal game which is set to start at 11:00 a.m. next Saturday.
 
Westmont's semifinal match will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal match-up. The championship match will be played later the same day, beginning at 7:00 p.m.