By Ron Smith
August 24, 2019
 
(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.) Hali Galloway delivered 13 kills to lead #23 Westmont Volleyball (4-1) to a 3-1 victory over the Regals of California Lutheran on Saturday afternoon.
 
"Hali was hitting the ball very well," noted head coach Ruth McGolpin. Our offense was fast again and their defense couldn't stop Hali or Cassidy Rea on the pins."
 
Attacking from the right side, Rea delivered nine kills.
 
The Warriors cruised to a 25-10 win in the opening frame.
 
"In set one, our blocking was fantastic," exclaimed McGolpin. "We pretty much shut down everybody. Lauren Friis was steady throughout the course of the match. I don't think she had any passing or receiving errors and, of course, she dug a lot of balls.
 
"One thing we have been working on with her is consistently communicating with the team about the defenses we are running and she is doing a good job as an on-floor captain."
 
The Regals rallied to take set two 25-19, tying the match at one set each.
 
"In the second set, they were scrappy and they were better than us on defense," acknowledge McGolpin. "They started to block some balls and we got a little tentative. I kept reinforcing that it is okay to make mistakes if you are going after it rather than being tentative. We started to come back, but a little bit too late."
 
That turn around continued in the third set which Westmont won 25-15.
 
"In set three, we went back to our bread and butter," explained McGolpin. "Lexi Malone was effective as both and attacker and as a blocker. She had a lot of family members and friends at the game.
 
"Our defense picked up the pace and our passing got better. We ran the middle more, and that opened up the outsides and the opposites."
 
Malone, a freshman middle hitter, contributed eight kills to the Warrior cause while junior right side hitter Patty Kerman and junior outside hitter Brooklynn Cheney each added seven.
 
The fourth set saw the Warriors seal the victory with a 25-18 win.
 
"In the fourth set, we had a chance to get some reserves in. Keilani Mayo played in the back row and did a great job in serve receives. It is always great to have another freshman getting some playing time."
 
Tuesday, Westmont will host Antelope Valley in its home opener at Murchison Gymnasium. Then for the weekend, the Warriors will fly to Omaha, Nebraska to participate in the Bellevue University GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic where they will take on four Midwest opponents. On Friday, Westmont will match up with #3 Grand View (Iowa) and #22 Belleview (Neb.) Then on Saturday, the Warrior will face off with Morningside (Iowa) and Peru State (Iowa).