By Ron Smith
March 29, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) The Lions made some noise, but fourth-ranked Westmont Women's Volleyball (10-0, 7-0 GSAC) posted a four-set win over Vanguard (9-8, 5-6 GSAC) on Monday night to kick-off the first of four Golden State Athletic Conference matches planned for this week.
 
The first two sets were closely contested with Westmont winning the first set 25-23 and Vanguard taking the second set 25-21. Westmont took control from there, winning the last two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-13.
 
"We had steady play and we came out aggressive," assessed Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "There were times when the nature of the game was a little bit hectic, but we remained calm. We continued to take deep breaths and remain calm in our approach."
 
In a seesaw battle in the opening frame, Westmont found itself down 14-12. The Warriors responded with a five kills in a row – three from Hali Galloway and one each from Jessie Terlizzi and Kaylee Ivie – to take a 17-14 advantage. However, the Lions responded with a 6-2 run, recapturing the lead at 20-19.
 
A kill by Brooklynn Cheney, an error on each side, and a kill by Vanguard's Cambria Fernandez made the score 22-21 in favor of the visitors. Westmont took over from there, scoring on four of the next five rallies, including a kill by Phoebe Minch to end the set and put Westmont up one set to none.
 
In the second set, Westmont found itself playing from behind much of the way. A 4-0 run midway through gave Westmont a 12-9 advantage, but it was short lived. Vanguard scored the next four points as part of a 8-2 run that put the Lions up 17-14. Westmont would pull within one several times the rest of the way, but did not succeed in catching the Lions.
 
"Our setters had been a little inconsistent," admitted McGolpin. "One of the things I said to the setters is that they needed set the middles more and trust their talent. I felt like they took a step in the right direction."
 
That self-confidence helped the Warriors dominate the next two sets and gave the hitters an opportunity for success.
 
"Our right side hitters, Jessie Terlizzi and Phoebe Minch were on fire as was (outside hitter) Hali Galloway. Hali's defensive effort really helped us. She had a lot of energy, which carried over to her front court play."
 
Galloway finished with a team-high 14 kills and a .243 attack percentage. Minch and Terlizzi each tallied nine kills while middle blocker Lexi Malone produced 10 in the Warriors' victory.
 
If the Warriors can win three out of this week's four matches, they will clinch at least a Co-GSAC West Regular Season Championship and a berth in the NAIA National Championships.
 
"It's a tough week," acknowledged McGolpin. "We play today, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It's not easy as a student-athlete playing a lot of matches in a single week, but it is one game at a time for us. That is always our mindset. We took care of today, then we have to take care of Wednesday. Then the rest will fall into place."
 
The Warriors will play at Vanguard on Wednesday evening before returning home for games with the second-place Hawks of San Diego Christian on both Friday and Saturday.
 
Due to state and local mandates, spectators will not be admitted to any of this week's game. However, fans can follow the action both in Costa Mesa and in Santa Barbara by pointing their browsers to https://athletics.westmont.edu/video. Friday and Saturday's games can also be accessed through Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku.