By Jacob Norling
November 19, 2022
 
(BUTTE, Mont.) Westmont Volleyball (23-6) clinched one last trip to Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday night, after defeating the Montana Tech Orediggers (24-9) in three straight sets to win the NAIA Opening Round. With the win, the Warriors advance to the final site of the NAIA National Championship, where they will compete one final time for the red banner.
 
"The team played great tonight," said Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "We jumped up and down for joy when the final point was scored. To get to go one last time in our final year in the NAIA is special. We're going to enjoy the moment, and we're excited to get to work after Thanksgiving."
 
All-GSAC star Phoebe Minch led the way for Westmont as she collected a tied-for-team-high 11 kills along with a game-high 20 digs. Jessie Terlizzi also collected 11 kills, while Taylor Distelberg added seven of her own to go along with a team-high six blocks.
 
All-GSAC setter Keelyn Kistner led Westmont with 24 assists, while Alexa Shiner collected 16 as well.
 
"Phoebe's passing was on point and her attacking was the best on the team," noted McGolpin. "She played smart, her serving was excellent, and it was overall just a great performance for Phoebe. Jessie also came up with some monster kills when we needed it, and her passing was excellent tonight as well."
 
In the first set, following a tie to 11, Westmont took control after an Oredigger service error, which preceded kills from Minch and Sara Krueger. Up 14-11, Westmont never allowed Montana Tech to again tie the set. The lead remained consistent and in the end, Minch's fifth kill of the set gave Westmont a tone-setting 25-20 win.
 
The must-see show of the night came in set two, when Westmont faced at one point a 17-12 deficit. At that point, consecutive kills from Ashley Boswell sparked a 5-2 run that saw Westmont creep back within a pair at 19-17. Still, the Orediggers held the Warriors off for several more minutes, at one point taking a 24-21 lead.
 
Down three, and down to their final life in set two, Minch swatted a kill that sent herself the service line down 24-22. Then, back-to-back kills from Jessie Terlizzi knotted the set at 24, and sent a bolt of lightning through the road bench.
 
Later on, with the set tied at 26, a kill from Boswell followed by an Oredigger attacking error capped off a spectacular come-from-behind 28-26 win, pulling Westmont within one set of the Final Site.
 
"Down 24-21, we made some moves with Alexis Dennick coming in for Ashley Boswell," pointed out McGolpin. "We needed blocking, and she, along with a few others, came up with a few key blocks and some huge defensive plays. We made several scramble plays and had some serious momentum swings at the end of that game. I loved it."
 
In the third and final set, Westmont built leads of 10-5, 19-13, and 23-15. Still, Montana Tech chose to go down swinging as the Orediggers pulled off an electric 8-0 to tie the set at 23. However, the Warriors never wavered. First, a kill from Distelberg gave Westmont a 24-23 lead, and finally, Krueger's fifth kill of the match gave Westmont a 25-23 win, sending them to Sioux City for the final time in program history.
 
"We had a huge lead, but they just kept fighting back," acknowledged McGolpin. "In the end, it was a great shot by Taylor to hit that ball in the deep corner, and a perfect shot by Sara to end the game. It was the perfect set at the right time."
 
Pool play in the NAIA National Championship is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 30, with the NAIA National Championship match scheduled for Tuesday, December 6. When the full schedule is released, more information will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.