By Jacob Norling
December 1, 2022
(SIOUX CITY, Iowa.) After falling to the Bellevue Bruins (28-7) on Thursday, Westmont Volleyball's fate is up in the air ahead of Friday's Pool Play finale. Having beaten Midland in four sets on Wednesday, Westmont (24-7) would need Midland to defeat Bellevue on Friday in order to force a tiebreaker scenario.
If Midland defeats Bellevue, all three teams would have identical 1-1 records in Pool Play, which would lead to a pair of one-set tiebreakers to 25 that would be played late Friday evening. Following Midland's contest against Bellevue, the results would determine which two teams would have to play a 'semi-final' tiebreaker, and which team would await the winner of the semi-final in a winner-take-all game to 25.
Following Bellevue's four-set win against Westmont on Thursday, a win for the Bruins against Midland on Friday would crown Bellevue the outright winner of Pool C.
On Thursday, Westmont had a chance to clinch their spot in the NAIA Quarterfinals with a win, but the Bruins of Bellevue did not allow the Warriors to come near that possibility.
"All credit goes to Bellevue," reflected Westmont head coach
Ruth McGolpin. "They made very few mistakes, they were bombing balls, and their setter made really good choices. Still, our team didn't back down. They continued to battle to the very end.
"We continued to try and stay aggressive, and we never backed down from the fight. That's all you can ask for from a team."
In set one, the Bruins broke into double-digits at 10-6, before putting the set to bed early moments later. Up 11-7, three Bellevue kills sparked a 5-0 run that put the Bruins up 16-7 in the heart of the set. Bellevue never surrendered control as they ultimately won a tone-setting 25-15 opener.
In set two, Westmont responded after initially trailing 14-10. Out of a McGolpin timeout, Westmont fought back with a 7-2 run, taking their first lead 17-16. Later, a kill from
Lexi Malone put Westmont up 24-19, but the Bruins answered with a four-point swing to cut it to 24-23. Then, Westmont was given their lone chance to erupt when
Jessie Terlizzi recorded a kill to win it 25-23, momentarily tying the match at one apiece.
In the swing set, Westmont hung with Bellevue as the game entered double-digits with Bellevue leading by just one at 11-10. At that point, however, the Bruins scored on three consecutive Westmont errors, and then recorded a service ace to put them up 15-10. The Warriors continued to fight back, but were never able to close the gap as the Bruins went up 2-1 with a 25-22 win.
In set four, Westmont initially led early at 5-4, but Bellevue caused immediate stress for Westmont by scoring six unanswered points to go up 10-5. The Warriors got back within a pair at 11-9, but Bellevue then scored six of the next eight points, going up with 17-11 with the finish line in sight.
In the end, Bellevue's 55th kill of the match gave the Bruins a 25-19 win and a 3-1 match victory, giving Bellevue the chance to control their own destiny on Friday.
While Westmont's fate is still to be determined, the uncertainty regarding their season was cause for emotion in the post-game huddle.
"There were tears, for sure," acknowledged McGolpin. "Your fate being in someone else's hands isn't any fun, but with that, our fate is never really in our own hands because it's in God's hands. This hit hard with the seniors today, but again, anything can happen."
Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. CST/11:00 a.m. PST, Westmont will gather in the Tyson Events and watch the final match of Pool C unfold. If Midland defeats Bellevue, the Pool Play tiebreakers will be played following the conclusion of all other regularly scheduled matches.
For reference, the final Pool Play match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. CST. Teams are given a mandatory minimum of thirty minutes to warm up before competition, meaning Westmont's fate might not be decided until the final hours of Friday night.
For Westmont, the hope is that Friday is an eventful and unforgettable day in Sioux City, Iowa.
