By Ron Smith
April 12, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (13-1), the third-ranked team in the NAIA, will host Benedictine of Arizona (10-4) in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round. The victor will advance with 23 other winners of opening round matches to Sioux City, Iowa to compete in the remainder of the national championship event.
 
The Warriors and Redhawks have met on only one prior occasion. In August of 2018, Westmont swept Benedictine 25-8, 25-16, 25-21 as part of the Hope International Summer Slam. It was just the third year of the Redhawks' women's volleyball program.
 
The two squads have faced two common opponents this season. Against Saint Katherine, Westmont posted a 3-1 victory in the first game of the year. Benedictine faced Saint Katherine three times losing the first encounter 3-2 on March 13 but winning the second match on the same day by the same score. On April 5, the Redhawks prevailed 3-1 over Saint Katherine.
 
The other common opponent was Providence Christian which Westmont defeated 3-0 in the second match of the year. Benedictine faced Providence Christian twice on March 6, winning both by scores of 3-1 and 3-0.
 
The Redhawks are led offensively by sophomore outside hitters Brianna Rivera and Brittnie Henige who are averaging 3.9 and 3.3 kills per set respectively. Sophomore Annabelle Somoza and freshman Jaylynn Nihipali serve as the team's setters, averaging 5.9 and 4.2 assists per game.
 
The 2020-21 season marks the fifth year that Benedictine has competed in NAIA volleyball, all under the leadership of head coach Sonia Jones (84-46). This is the first year the team has qualified to play in the NAIA National Championship, which they did by winning the California Pacific Conference regular season championship.
 
Westmont and Benedictine will line-up on opposite sides of the net on Saturday, April 17 in Murchison Gymnasium, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Due to state and local mandates, spectators will not be admitted to the match. Fans can follow the action on the Westmont Sports Network broadcast available at https://athletics.westmont.edu and on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku.