By Ron Smith
September 8, 2018
 
(SURPRISE, ARIZ.) Westmont Women's Volleyball, ranked seventh in the NAIA, extended its Golden State Athletic Conference win streak to 32 games with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-16 sweep of the Spirit of Ottawa (Ariz.). Westmont improved its record to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in GSAC play. Ottawa fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
 
This was the first time that the Warriors have matched up with the Spirit who are new to the GSAC this year. The school, which opened last year, was admitted to both the NAIA and the GSAC beginning this year. Ottawa will not be eligible for postseason play until the 2019-20 season.
 
"The match had its ups and downs, but ultimately, I was happy to pull out the win," said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. "It wasn't the smoothest match we've ever played... but we were able to make some adjustments and come up with some plays that made us a whole lot more successful."
 
Samantha Neely led the Warriors with 13 kills and a .481 attack percentage. The senior right side hitter produced 13 kills on 27 attempts without an attack error. She also had a match-high six blocks.
 
Brooklynn Cheney notched 12 kills for the Warriors from the outside while Hali Galloway added 11 kills.
 
"I was impressed with our pins and how they rose to the occasion," said Cook. "Sam was unstoppable and embraced her role of needing to put more balls away with two blockers up. The pins really stepped it up offensively.
 
In the first set, Westmont was down 11-6 before going on a 15-2 run to take a 21-13 advantage. Cassidy Rea had three kills during the run while Neely and Galloway each added two. The two teams traded side outs the rest of the way before Westmont closed out the first set 25-18 on a kill by Kaylee Ivie.
 
The Warriors produced their best hitting percentage of the match in the second set, connecting .282. The Warriors jumped out to an 13-7 list and then stretched their advantage to 21-9 on an 8-2 run. The Spirit cut into the Warrior lead with a 5-1 run, but Westmont scored on three of the final four serves to go ahead two sets to one.
 
In the final frame, Westmont turned a 6-4 score into an 11-4 lead with a 5-0 run. The Spirit drew no closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
Taking the game off was All-American Libby Dahlberg, replaced by freshman Andrey Brown who tallied five block assists.
 
"I was pleased with the way Audrey (Brown) stepped in for Libby," said Cook. "She had some good block touches."
 
With the sweep, Westmont extended two other winning streaks - claiming its 10th victory in a row and extending its streak of sets won to 24.
 
The Warriors return to Murchison Gymnasium on Tuesday for a non-conference match-up with Westcliff (2-3).