By Ron Smith
December 3, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (27-6) passed it first test at the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship with flying colors. On the first day of pool play, the Warriors swept #9 Columbia (Mo.) in straight sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-22).
 
In six previous matches with the Cougars (27-5), Westmont had yet to be victorious. All but the most recent of the previous match-ups had been in National Tournament play.
 
"The team played great," said Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "Our serving was spectacular. We served to their most effective attackers, getting them out of rhythm. Hali Galloway passed nails. Brooklyn Cheney was on fire defensively. We were aggressive attacking and our setters spread the offense nicely, taking risks that paid off. They set our middles – Lexi Malone and Kendall Kenyon – at good times."
 
Malone led the Warriors in kills with 11, posting a .455 attack percentage. Galloway added three blocks and five digs.
 
"Hali was passing and taking rips on the ball," noted McGolpin. "Her defense in the first set the tone for us defensively."
 
Setters Keelyn Kistner and Sydny Dunn combined for 27 kills while Lauren Friis led the team in digs at 22.
 
In the first set, Westmont jumped out to 5-1 advantage, courtesy of a kill and service ace by Galloway and a kill by Cheney. The Cougars caught the Warriors at 10, but Westmont scored the next four points to go up 14-10.
 
Up 20-17, Westmont reeled off four more points including kills by Galloway and Cheney to take a commanding 24-17 lead. Columbia responded with a 4-0 run of its own before a kill by Malone put the Warriors on top one set to none.
 
The second set was tightly contested throughout. Down 17-15, Westmont benefited from kills by Kenyon and Patty Kerman, a solo block by Kerman and a block by Kenyon and Galloway to take a 20-17 lead. After a kill by Columbia's Luisa Ferreira, Westmont benefited from a pair of Cougar attack errors. After that, the two teams traded points until Westmont claimed the second-set victory at 25-21. Once again, a kill by Malone provided the final point.
 
The Warriors found themselves trailing 15-12 in the third set before posting an 8-2 run that put Westmont in the driver's seat. The run included two kills by Galloway and one by Cheney in addition to a service ace by Dunn.
 
The Cougars battled back to within one at 23-22, but a kill by Malone gave the Warriors match point a 24-22. The match ended on a Cougar attack that went long.
 
Westmont hit just .130 as a team but held Columbia to a .092 attack percentage.
 
Pool play continues tomorrow when the Warriors face off against the eighth-ranked Jimmies of Jamestown from North Dakota (30-4)
 
"The Jimmies will give us a different look," said McGolpin. "They run a 6-2 and are significantly bigger. They have a real strong middle blocker. However, if we put the pieces together, we have a pretty good shot at it."
 
The tournament in Sioux City is comprised of 32 teams that are divided into eight pools of four teams each. Each team plays the others in its pool with the top two teams from each pool advancing to a 16-team, single-elimination bracket.
 
Jamestown is the top ranked team in Pool H. Columbia was the second-seeded team and Westmont the third. The fourth team is Xavier of Louisiana (31-7) whom the Warriors will play on Thursday. Jamestown defeated Xavier today three sets to one.