By Ron Smith
August 14, 2019
 
(FULLERTON, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball, ranked #23 in the NAIA Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll released earlier today, split its first two matches of the 2019 season. The Warriors defeated UC Merced (1-1) in straight sets (25-9, 25-15, 25-23) before falling to Embry-Riddle of Arizona (2-0) in the evening game by a score of 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21).
 
"The players came out firing in set one," said Westmont's Ruth McGolpin in her inaugural match as a collegiate head coach.
 
Westmont scored the first five points of the match and never looked back in the opening frame.
 
"The right side hitters (Cassidy Rea and Patty Kerman) were on fire in the first set," reported McGolpin. "Both setters (Sydny Dunn and Keelyn Kistner) did a nice job of distributing the ball and running a fast offense. The setters took risks setting the middles on difficult passes, which I am very pleased with.
 
Rea and Kerman led the Warriors with 10 kills each with Rea recording a .500 attack percentage and Kerman hitting at a .391 pace. They would end the first set with a six-point run that included three kills from Rea, and two from Hali Galloway. The junior outside hitter recorded eight kills and a .316 attack percentage.
 
"Hali continued stroking the ball well, like she has in training camp," said McGolpin. "Lexi Malone had some great kills and good blocks. The other team was struggling to get the ball around her."
 
Malone tallied six kills and hit for a team-high .556 in her collegiate debut.
 
"Our setters, Keelyn Kistner and Sydny Dunn both distributed the ball nicely," added McGolpin. Kistner, also a freshman, tallied 17 assists while Dunn contributed another 14.
 
The second set was more closely contested. Up 10-7, however, Westmont put together an 8-2 lead to take a commanding 18-9 advantage.
 
"In the third set, we were down by five points (22-17) late in the game," recalled McGolpin. "I was very happy to see the team come back and tie it. Merced called a timeout at 23-23, then we ended up finishing the game. I like that the team had some grit and some heart to make that comeback."
 
The second match saw the Warriors face tougher competition.
 
"We played Embry-Riddle last year in the National Tournament pool play," noted McGolpin. "They look stronger this year than last and they beat The Master's this morning in five.
 
"We had our chances, but we gave up runs of points," assessed the coach. "We should have won the second set. I pulled the juniors and seniors aside after set two and talked to them about their leadership. Come game three, they stepped up and showed more leadership with everyone.
 
"It was little things that hurt us like not making points on free ball conversions, or not knowing who was going to get a down ball. We also needed to take a little more of a risk with serving.
 
"There is room for improvement, but we are on a good path."
 
Malone led the attack with 10 kills while posting a .471 attack percentage. Rea and Kerman each added nine kills from the right side with .292 and .250 attack percentages respectively.
 
"Cassidy was amazing on the right side, getting us kills when we needed them. Patty Kerman turned it on down the stretch."
 
Brooklynn Cheney found her rhythm on the outside, notching eight kills while hitting .214.
 
"I was impressed with the setters again, but I thought we needed to run the middle a little more in order to open up the pins," offered McGolpin.
 
Kistner tallied 21 assists and Dunn posted 15.
 
"Lauren Friis was a steady hand in the back row in both games," observed McGolpin. "She makes very few errors and is doing a good job of being a backcourt leader. She is communicating well between the coaching staff and players on the floor."
 
Friis tallied 17 serve receptions and 28 digs over the two contests. Cheney tallied 50 serve receptions and 21 digs.
 
"I think that if we had played to our potential, we would have won the second game today," said McGolpin.
 
The Warriors will take on two more opponents tomorrow at the Summer Slam. At 10:00 a.m., Westmont will face Montana Tech (2-0). Then at 4:00 p.m., the Warriors will match up with Saint Francis of Indiana (1-1).