By Ron Smith
September 21, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) A day after defeating Life Pacific in a match in which the Warriors did not perform at their best, #17 Westmont Volleyball (14-2, 5-0 GSAC) got back on track and handed Hope International (9-7, 3-3) a three-set loss (25-21, 25-19, 25-19). Westmont knew they would need to up their game after the Royals upset #25 The Master's last night on the Mustangs (8-7, 3-2) home court.
 
"Hope is definitely a good defensive team," acknowledged Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "Their libero (Hailey Manliguis) is very skilled. Hope has always been a tough team for us to play."
 
The battle was close in all three sets. In the opening frame, Hope took a 12-9 lead on a kill by Natalie Hadder, prompting McGolpin to call a time out. Her team responded by winning eight of the next nine serves to take a 17-13 advantage. Hali Galloway tallied three kills in the 8-1 run, while Cassidy Rea produced two and Brooklynn Cheney and Lexi Malone each added one.
 
The Royals rallied to score the next four points to tie the set at 17-all before a block from Rea and Kendall Kenyon and a kill by Patty Kerman put Westmont up 19-17. The next two points went to the Royals, tying the set again at 19.
 
Westmont claimed the next four points, courtesy of an block by Kenyon and Galloway, a service ace by Galloway, a Hope attack error and a block by Kerman and Kenyon.
 
"Kendall and Patty's blocking was good," assessed McGolpin. "Their set-up with their feet was what was perfect. They were disciplined in their block."
 
The Westmont block pestered the Royals' attackers all night. The Warriors registered 11 team blocks led by Kenyon with seven block assists and Kerman and Lexi Malone with four each.
 
Three successive side outs gave the Warriors set point. Kerman settled the matter with a kill from Sydney Dunn, giving Westmont a 25-21 win in the first set.
 
In the second set, a seesaw battle resulted in an 18-18 tie before the Warriors took control with a 7-1 run that put Westmont up two sets to none. The Warriors' points included two kills from Rea as well as one each from Cheney, Dunn, Malone and Kerman. Cheney and Malone also teamed up for a block in the set-ending onslaught.
 
The third set saw Hope jump out to a 7-2 lead, prompting McGolpin to call a timeout.

"We changed the defense," said McGolpin about what steps were taken to right the ship. "I talked to the passers about getting underneath the ball a little more so could pop the ball a little higher. And I talked about needing to defend our home court."
 
Earlier, McGolpin had used a timeout to help the setters (Dunn and Keelyn Kistner) make some adjustments.
 
"I talked to our setters about giving the ball a little bit more lift for Hali and getting the ball out to the antenna more," noted McGolpin. "Then she started hitting the ball down the line. I also talked about speeding the ball up to Brooklynn."
 
Westmont returned from the timeout and produced an 8-2 run to take a 10-9 lead. The turnaround included kills from Rea, Galloway, Cheney and Kerman as well as a pair of blocks - the first from Kerman and Kenyon and the second from Cheney and Malone.
 
The score remained within one point until the Warriors, tied at 13, opened up some breathing room with a four-point run. Rea and Galloway provided the firepower while Kenyon and Galloway offered a block. Hope would get no closer than two points the rest of the way.
 
With the score, 23-20, a kill be Cheney produced match point. Hope temporarily staved off the loss with a kill by Emree Sato, but Cheney struck again to end the contest and give Westmont its eighth win in a row.
 
Rea led the offensive attack with 12 kills and a .308 attack percentage. Cheney duplicated Rea's attack percentage and tallied 10 kills. Galloway added nine kills and Kerman notched seven.
 
"Cassidy and Brooklynn got back on track and were very important to us," offered McGolpin. "Patty was very smart in her shots. She had a lot of tools of the block and her own blocking was very good. We were able to stop their middles from having a productive game."
 
Defensively, junior libero Lauren Friis and Cheney led the effort on the back line. Friis tallied 20 digs and 14 serve receptions (no errors), while Cheney notched 20 digs and 29 serve receptions.
 
"Lauren's nickname is the flying fish and she definitely flew around the court a lot tonight," expressed McGolpin. "She had good reads. She didn't want the ball to hit the ground and she was willing to sacrifice her body to keep that from happening."
 
Westmont will hit the road next week for a pair of conference games beginning with a showdown with Vanguard on Friday night in Costa Mesa. Vanguard and Westmont sit atop the conference standings with identical records of 14-2 overall and 7-0 in conference play.
 
"We have to play in the Pit," said McGolpin, referring to the Vanguard gym's nickname. "It will be hot and the fans are right up on you. Vanguard is a team we respect and they have a coach (Jennifer Dorn), we adore. We know that it is going to be a hard battle. The team will participate in a service project tomorrow and we will give them Monday off. Then, we get right back in the gym on Tuesday."
 
Despite the win, the team experienced a somber moment immediately following the contest.
 
"I told the team at the end of the game that the starting libero from Columbia (Mo.), Shelby Meyer, died last night after falling off a ladder. I wanted to share with my team how important we are to each other. We prayed for the Columbia community and family. Life is important beyond the confines of the gym. We were all in tears."