Box Score By Jacob Norling
August 20, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) After going undefeated at the Hope International Summer Slam, #9 Westmont (4-1) was swept by #15 Corban (Ore.) (5-0) on Friday night in Santa Barbara. Westmont scored 20 points in only one set, dropping the match 25-15, 25-19, and 25-20.
 
When asked what caused her club's struggles on Friday night, Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin said, "Corban."
 
"Their defense was amazing, they passed well, and they just outplayed us."
 
Corban began the match with an 8-2 run and settled in smoothly, while Westmont never seemed to find their footing. In the first set, Corban out-killed Westmont 15-8. Corban's Ally Tow collected five kills in the first set, while no Westmont player had more than two.
 
Westmont's leading hitter Patty Kerman did not collect a kill until there were already twenty points on the board.
 
"I think we were just inconsistent," noticed McGolpin. "Our passing was not on point, so our setters struggled, and we had no middle attack. That made it hard for our players to get it going."
 
In the second set, Westmont came out stronger, trading points with Corban leading up to a 7-7 tie. After the clubs had seven points each, Corban went on an 11-3 run to take a commanding 18-10 lead going into a Westmont timeout. Jessie Terlizzi collected four kills in the second set while Addie Paul added three as well.
 
In the third set, Westmont once again kept Corban close in the beginning. Corban first got breathing room when Westmont made three consecutive errors to give the Oregon club a 12-8 lead. Later on, with Corban leading 16-9, Westmont made its biggest surge of the night, going on a 6-1 run to pull within two.
 
Unfortunately for the home team, the momentum ended there and Corban outscored Westmont 9-5 for the remainder of the match. Corban's Avari Ridgway tallied seven kills in the final two sets to finish with a game-high 10 kills
 
Highlights for Westmont were Terlizzi's seven kills and Paul's team-high eight. Freshman libero Kaili Hashimoto had another stellar night as well, collecting nine digs. Keelyn Kistner led the squad in digs and assists with 14 and 13 respectively.
 
"There were some bright spots," noted McGolpin. "Our two-man serving went really well and I feel like as the match went on we started to hit our targets better. Addie Paul played great and Kaili Hashimoto was unbelievable. We're young and our future looks good."
 
Westmont will have a chance to right their wrongs tomorrow, when they play Corban once again, at 2:00 p.m. in Murchison Gym.
 
"Tomorrow we have to get after it defensively. We cannot let balls fall two feet in front of us again. We have to get some stops on the defensive end in order to set ourselves up for an offensive attack. We'll watch some film and figure out how to get better tomorrow."
 
Admission will be free to Saturday's contest. Due to state and local mandates, spectators must wear a face covering while inside the gymnasium.