By Tim Heiduk
November 1, 2019
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) The Westmont women's volleyball team (21-5 overall, 12-3 GSAC) kept pace with #24 Hope International (18-7, 12-3) atop the conference standings with a four-set road victory (23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-20) over a resurgent William Jessup team on Friday night.
 
Entering the match, William Jessup (12-10, 9-6) had won five straight and was on its way to making that six in a row after winning the first set against Westmont.
 
With a 7-6 lead in set one, William Jessup scored four straight points to go ahead 11-6, prompting a Westmont timeout. The visiting Warriors responded with three consecutive points to get back to within two. The teams went back and forth until Westmont was able to tie the set at 19-19 before taking its first lead of the set, 21-20. William Jessup took a timeout and immediately retook the lead with three straight points, 23-21. Westmont tied it up again at 23-23, but the home side secured the final two points to take the first set, 25-23.
 
Facing an early deficit against William Jessup was familiar territory for Westmont, who came back from two sets down to win in five earlier this season.
 
"Losing the first set made me think about the first time we played them at home," said Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "I said to the women after set one that we can't be magicians and pull off what we did last time. We needed to start taking care of it and that started with the defensive side of things. We were hesitant in defensive spots, which was surprising because we spent so much time the past two weeks really working on our defense."
 
Westmont turned things around in the second set, jumping out in front 2-0 and then 7-4, but William Jessup scored four points in a row to take the lead, 8-7. Westmont regained its advantage at 13-12 and later went ahead 21-19. After a William Jessup timeout, the home side scored back-to-back points to tie the set, leading to Westmont calling a timeout of its own. The visiting Warriors responded with four straight points to close out the second set, 25-21.
 
"Our defense improved and our blocking improved," said McGolpin. "Those two things tied together allowed us to get back."
 
In the third set, Westmont picked up right where it left off in the second, racing out to a 4-0 lead. With an 11-7 advantage, Westmont scored four points in a row to go ahead 15-7. Then with a 17-11 lead, the visitors rallied off six consecutive points to extend their lead to 23-11 before finishing the set off at 25-16.
 
"We had some really good serving production," said McGolpin. "We had eight aces compared to seven errors, but the thing was we served them out of system a lot … Syd (Dunn) got on that serving run and that was really good to see. She did it all with a standing float too. She didn't jump float."
 
Westmont started off strongly once again in the fourth set, taking a 3-0 lead. William Jessup decreased Westmont's lead to 9-8, but Westmont responded with four straight points. After William Jessup broke Westmont's serve, the visiting Warriors scored four more points in a row to go ahead 17-9. William Jessup got no closer than four the rest of the set, as Westmont won the fourth set 25-20 to clinch the match.
 
"The three keys to win that match were our defense, our blocking got better, and then we served tough," said McGolpin.
 
Brooklynn Cheney, who this week was named GSAC Defender of the Week for the second straight time, led the Warriors offensively on the night with a career-high 15 kills.
 
"Brooklynn was certainly banging some balls," said McGolpin. "Her hitting percentage was up and she definitely was our key at the outside hitter spot. They were serving her almost every time and she was so steady. It was amazing."
 
Patty Kerman just missed out on double-digit kills with nine. Sydny Dunn recorded a team-high 24 assists, followed by 12 from Keelyn Kistner.
 
"I pulled our setters off to the side in set two and told them that they had to start controlling this game better," said McGolpin. "They needed to trust themselves and get more confident in themselves. They both responded."
 
Lauren Friis led the defense with 19 digs, while Kistner added 11. Cassidy Rea and Lexi Malone tied for the team lead with five blocks.
 
The Warriors, now winners of four straight, return to action tomorrow against Menlo (15-9, 11-4), a team that sits just one game out of first place in the conference standings. First serve is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
 
"They're on fire. They swept The Master's in three tonight," said McGolpin. "It's their Senior Night. We anticipate a boisterous game and we're definitely not taking anything for granted. We just need to continue to have our eyes forward and continue to play as hard as we possibly can from the get-go."
 
Hope International travels to Vanguard (22-7, 11-5) tomorrow for a 5:00 p.m. match. Both Westmont and Hope International have three regular season GSAC matches remaining as the two teams jockey for first place in the conference.
 
"We just have to take care of our own side and hopefully someone else can help us out," said McGolpin.