By Jacob Norling
October 10, 2023
 
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball had a 2-1 set advantage over the Point Loma Sea Lions on Tuesday night in San Diego, but ultimately, were unable to finish the upset over the first-place team in the PacWest. In the final two sets of the night, the Sea Lions outscored the Warriors 40-20 to remain undefeated in conference contests.
 
"Set one got away from us," began McGolpin before discussing the match's end. "We played great in sets two and three, and in pretty convincing fashion, but it might be a different story if we hang on in set one. We let that one get away."
 
The Warriors caught the Sea Lions on their heels in the first set, jumping out to a 9-2 lead before the chairs were warm. With Westmont leading 4-2, Nariah Prescott recorded back-to-back blocks, and Ella Hosfeld collected consecutive service aces. Point Loma utilized their first timeout to try and regroup, but immediately following the stoppage, Hosfeld collected a third consecutive ace.
 
Following the third ace, however, the Sea Lions seemingly made the adjustments previously talked about, going on a five-point run that led to McGolpin's first timeout. At that point, Westmont's lead had shrunk to 9-7. Mirroring Point Loma's fate, Westmont fell victim to another service ace out the timeout before getting back on the scoreboard.
 
Point Loma first tied the set at 11, and later on took their first lead of the night at 16-15. A kill from the Sea Lions followed by a Westmont attacking error stretched the home team's lead to 18-15, forcing Westmont to use their final timeout. Westmont was unable to claw back into it following the stoppage, as following the 9-2 deficit, Point Loma ended the set on a 23-11 run to win it 25-20.
 
Westmont once again had a multi-point lead in set two, this time a 9-6 advantage thanks to a block by Taylor Distelberg. Point Loma got one point back, but Distelberg and a pair of teammates joined forces for back-to-back blocks, leading to a Point Loma timeout with Westmont ahead 11-7.
 
Westmont followed up the first timeout with a 4-1 run, highlighted by a kill and a service ace from Jessie Terlizzi. With Westmont then leading 15-8 the Sea Lions used their final timeout in an attempt to whip up another comeback.
 
Point Loma then forced McGolpin to call her own timeout after making it a five-point game, and minutes later, the Sea Lions forced McGolpin to call her final timeout after making it a two-point game. At that point, Westmont was hanging on to a 20-18 lead, but immediately after the stoppage, Point Loma stormed back to tie it at 20.
 
Disaster almost struck in set two when Point Loma took their first lead of the game at 22-21, before then extending it to 23-21. However, Westmont would not surrender another point. A kill from Distelberg and a lift from Point Loma tied the game, before a Sea Lion attacking error put Westmont back up 24-23. Then, Nariah Prescott collected her sixth kill of the night to finish off the 25-23 win.
 
Westmont was quick to put Point Loma on their heels once again in the third, after another block from Distelberg and a kill from Minch put Westmont up 4-0. Dating back to the second set, Westmont had gone on an 8-0 run, causing the Sea Lions to once again call timeout.
 
At one point the Sea Lions got back within a pair at 8-6, but a pair of Distelberg kills and an ace from Kaili Hashimoto highlighted a 5-0 run that put Westmont back in the driver's seat. Coming out of the timeout with a 13-6 advantage Westmont continued to build upon their lead to a 20-12 deficit. Point Loma forced a Westmont timeout when at one point they made it a 20-15 game, but following the timeout the Warriors regrouped to cap off a 25-17 win.
 
Following a 7-7 tie in set four the Sea Lions scored four-consecutive points, forcing Westmont to use a timeout down 11-7. The run did not stop however, as a pair of Westmont attacking errors followed by an ace from the Sea Lions built their lead to 14-7. Westmont used one final timeout to try and stop the bleeding, but nothing would stand in the way of the Sea Lions who forced a fifth set with a 25-12 win.
 
Point Loma's run from set four never seemed to end during the beginning of the fifth set, as four consecutive kills allowed the Sea Lions to jump on top immediately. McGolpin called timeout with Westmont trailing 4-0, but another pair of kills immediately followed, leading to the team's final timeout being called while trailing 6-0.
 
Westmont followed up the final timeout with a resilient 5-1 run, getting back within a pair at 7-5. Unfortunately for the Warriors, a kill, a block, and an ace allowed Point Loma to once again distance themselves, this time with a 10-5 advantage.
 
Minutes later, a block for Point Loma gave the Sea Lions a 15-8 win, and a 3-2 match victory in come-from-behind fashion.
 
"In set five, we have to be more skillful," shared McGolpin. "It's not always a matter of mental fortitude, sometimes it really does just come down to who is more skillful, and Point Loma was more skillful in set five.
 
"We were hungry, and that's what kept us in the game, but at times, our passing evaded us. At the end of the night, there's a reason that's an undefeated team over there."
 
Ahead of the drive home, McGolpin said, "The team is bummed, as they should be. With that, they understand that it's a long year. We have to put some things together in order to win some of these tougher matches. Biola and Point Loma are both receiving votes, so we just measured up against a pair of really legit teams.
 
"There's still big games in front of us to be won."
 
On Friday night the Warriors return home to host Dominican, with first serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Links to tickets and live coverage are available on the Westmont Athletics website.
 
*Ahead of Friday night's game, the Warriors will receive the AVCA/Marine Corp Academic Award that the team earned during the 2022-2023 season. Attending pre-game ceremony, and awarding the Warriors their honor, will be Captain Austin Faunce, who is the Marine Officer Representative for Westmont.*