By Ron Smith
September 3, 2018
 
(PHOENIX, Calif.) Right side hitter Samantha Neely pounded away for 14 kills and a .565 attack percentage (14-1-23) as #7 Westmont Women's Volleyball (9-1) swept Arizona Christian (3-4) in the first Golden State Athletic Conference game of the year for both teams. Westmont won by scores of 25-25, 25-11, 29-27 to extended their win streak to nine matches. The Warriors have won their last 21 sets.
 
"Sam and (setter) Amy (Buffham) connected really well," reported Westmont head coach Patti Cook. "Sam was smart with her shots, knowing when she needed to swing and when she needed to just keep in play."
 
Hali Galloway and Brooklyn Cheney brought the heat from the left pin with Galloway tallying 13 kills and a .478 attack percentage. Cheney added another 10 kills to the Warriors' cause. Both players notched 12 digs. Galloway added 21 serve receptions and Cheney notched 10.
 
"Hali found her rhythm and was not holding back," assessed Cook. "She was able to attack from a couple of different angles and switch up her attack."
 
With a season-high 12 team blocks, the Warriors made things difficult on the Firestorm. Libby Dahlberg recorded seven block assists and one solo block to lead the Warriors with eight. Cheney was credited with six block assists.
 
Westmont fell behind 5-0 in the opening frame on five kills from the Firestorm. However, the Warriors turned things around quickly, scoring six points in a row – three on blocks, two on kills from Dahlberg and Cheney and one on an Arizona Christian attack error.
 
After giving up one point to tie the game at six, Westmont went on a 5-0 run fueled by a pair of kills by Neely, one by Cheney and one by Dahlberg. Play remained fairly even over the next 17 points, resulting in the Warriors holding a 19-15 advantage. That's when Westmont went on its third run of the set, scoring the final six points on two kills by Dahlberg, one from Galloway, a block by Dahlberg and Galloway and a couple of Firestorm miscues.
 
The Warriors jumped out to the 9-2 lead in the second set and never let the Firestorm entertain a comeback. Galloway tallied four kills during the first 11 serves while Neely added two kills and produced a solo block. The set ended with a 4-0 run with three kills from Galloway and one from Neely.
 
After simmering through the first two sets, the Firestorm roared back to life in the final frame, in which neither team held more than a three-point lead.
 
"Arizona Christian did not want to give anything up defensively and was more aggressive offensively," said Cook. "They turned it up a notch in the third set and we didn't really answer. We have to make adjustments quicker – to recognize when a team is stopping us in one area and find a way to adjust and win."
 
The Firestorm served for set point with the score 24-23 but Cheney pounded the ball home to tie the score at 24.
 
When Arizona Christian threatened again at 25-24, Neely stepped up and put the ball down to make it a 25-all score. The Firestorm's third and fourth set-points (26-25 and 27-26) were each thwarted with kills from Galloway.
 
At 27-all, Buffham dumped the ball over the net for a kill, giving Westmont its first, and only, match point. Cheney went back to the service line and put an end to the match with an ace.
 
"That was true grittiness on our part," noted Cook. "Arizona Christian was not going to roll over and we had to decide to dig our heals in and not roll over either."
 
Buffham tallied 32 assists in the three-set affair while Sydny Dunn added 14 more. Libero Lauren Friis recorded 20 digs and 14 serve receptions.
 
"Lauren was doing a nice job for us with serve receive and on defense," offered Cook. "I was impressed with our block. Our middles did a nice job of closing both ways. We stuck to our game plan regarding what we had scouted and what we knew the opposition liked to hit. We were able to take that away from them."
 
The Warriors will conclude their Arizona road trip tomorrow with a match against the Spirit of Ottawa (3-3, 0-1). The Spirit were swept in their GSAC volleyball debut by #25 The Master's (11-3, 1-0).
 
"We are not sure what to expect in Surprise," quipped Cook. "We are going to focus on our game and try to improve on what we did tonight. We are always learning, always trying to get better."