By Ron Smith
November 5, 2021
 
(ATHERTON, Calif.) It took five sets, but Westmont Volleyball downed the Oaks of Menlo 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-9, 22-25, 15-13) and moved closer to clinching an automatic berth in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament. Lexi Malone and Jessie Terlizzi each tallied 14 kills while Audrey Brown added 11 and Patty Kerman contributed nine.
 
"Our offense was again diverse. That was the word of the day," noted Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "The number of sets all of our hitters get is outstanding. Our serving got better, we kept the ball in play more, and we kept going after it on attacking."
 
As a result of today's Golden State Athletic Conference victory, Westmont (19-9, 13-3 GSAC) retains a two and one-half match lead for second place in the GSAC Standings over both Life Pacific (17-7, 10-5) and William Jessup (11-11, 10-5). The top two teams at the end of the regular season receive an automatic berth in the national championship. Westmont has just two games left in its conference schedule while Life Pacific and Jessup each have three.
 
If Westmont wins either of its two remaining games – tomorrow at Jessup or next Saturday at The Master's (8-18, 4-2) – the Warriors will clinch their 15th appearance in national championship play.
 
In tonight's match, Westmont gradually built a 15-11 lead in the first set before going on a 5-0 run that included two kills by Terlizzi and one each from Malone and Brown. Down 23-14 the Oaks produced their own five-point run to pull within four (23-19). A kill by Addie Paul and a Menlo attack error, however, ended the threat of an Oak's comeback, giving the Warriors a one-set-to-none lead.
 
In the second set, Menlo led most of the way and took a 23-17 lead. The Oaks took advantage of a short serve to keep the Warriors off balance. The Warriors closed to within one (23-22) on kills by Paul, Kerman and Malone, a service ace by Lilian Reininga and a block by Kerman and Malone. However, the Oaks got kills from Katherine Mumm and Cassandra Orozco, to close out the set and even the match at one set apiece.
 
"Our passing got better as the night went on," said McGolpin, "and we figured out how to solve their short serve."
 
The third set belonged to the Warriors. Westmont jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never relented. The team hit .355, producing 14 kills with just three errors on 31 attempts. Menlo managed just nine points before falling behind two sets to none.
 
The fourth set mimicked the second with Menlo jumping out to a 3-0 lead and retaining the lead through most of the set. The Warriors battled back and tied the set at 19 before taking a brief lead on another Terlizzi kill. The teams traded points, until, with the score tied at 22, Menlo closed it out by scoring the next three points – two on kills by Orozco.
 
That forced a deciding fifth set to 15. With Menlo up 2-1, Westmont reeled off four points to take a 5-2 lead. However, the Oaks scored on the next three rallies, tying the final set at five all. The score remained within two points until back-to-back kills by Kerman and Malone put the Warriors ahead 11-8. Menlo closed to within one (12-11) before back-to-back blocks by Paul, then Malone and Brown gave Westmont a 14-11 lead.
 
"Those blocks were key plays for us in the fifth set," emphasized McGolpin.
 
Menlo scored the next two points on kills by Gabriella MacKenzie and Abbey Briggs before Terlizzi delivered the final blow of the night to seal the Warrior victory.
 
Not only does tomorrow's match at William Jessup offer Westmont the opportunity of securing a national championship invitation with a win, but it also has significant implications for tiebreakers in the event that Westmont ends up tied with Jessup for second place at season's end.
 
Westmont already owns the tiebreaker with Life Pacific. The tiebreaker with Jessup might be determined in tomorrow's match, depending on the outcome.
 
Westmont will own the tiebreaker if:

• Westmont loses the match three sets to two.
• Westmont loses three sets to one and the total point differential is 13 points or less in favor or William Jessup.

 
Jessup will hold the tiebreaker if:

• Jessup wins three sets to none.
• Jessup wins three sets to one and the total point differential is 15 points or more in favor of William Jessup.

 
If the match ends 3-1 in favor of William Jessup, and the total point differential is exactly 14 in favor of William Jessup, then additional tiebreakers come into play. However, the results of those tiebreakers cannot be known until the end of the season because they involve the final placement in the standings of the other teams in the conference.
 
Of course, the tiebreaker only comes into play if Jessup wins out and Westmont loses both of its remaining games. Westmont can avoid all concerns about tiebreakers with a win tomorrow in Rocklin.