By Jacob Norling
October 14, 2023
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball capped off a perfect weekend in Santa Barbara when the team defeated the Academy of Art Urban Knights in four sets. Having won both matches this weekend, the Warriors have gotten back to .500 in PacWest play (5-5).
"It was a great homecoming weekend," said Westmont head coach
Ruth McGolpin. "We had a great alumni event earlier, and a lot of those people were in the stands with us tonight as well. It was a pleasure to have them in town this weekend.
"Our women played great tonight. Set two got away from us, yes, but they rebounded really nicely in set three before taking care of business in set four."
Westmont looked like they might run away with the first set early, as an early service ace from
Taylor Distelberg built Westmont's lead to 11-5. A kill from
Phoebe Minch stretched the lead to 14-7, but following Minch's kill, Art U went on a 7-2 run to pull within a pair at 16-14. Westmont built their lead back up a bit, but once again, the Urban Knights clawed back, tying the set at 21.
Finally, following a 22-22 tie, kills from
Sara Krueger and
Alexis Dennick put Westmont up 24-22, and moments later, a kill from
Jessie Terlizzi allowed Westmont to survive set one with a 25-23 win.
A service ace from
Kaili Hashimoto capped off a 5-1 run to open set two for Westmont, but once again, the Urban Knights refused to go away, tying the set at 11 following a block, and taking the lead 12-11 following a Westmont attacking error. At that point, McGolpin elected to call a timeout.
Later on, Westmont had leads of 22-20 and 24-23, but the Urban Knights would not be denied in set two. Following the 24-23 deficit, Art U scored on a kill, a block, and a service ace, tying the match at one apiece with a 26-24 win.
Westmont once again jumped out to an early lead in set three, this time stretching it to 10-3 behind a block from Krueger and Distelberg. Another stuff block from Distelberg allowed Westmont to build their lead to 14-6, minutes before a Minch kill led to Art U's final timeout at 20-12.
A block by
Ella Hosfeld- yes,
Ella Hosfeld- put Westmont up 23-16, and moments later, another block from Distelberg gave the Warriors a 25-17 win in game three, pulling the team within a set of victory.
Art U took an early 7-6 lead to open set four, but the Warriors followed it up with a 7-2 run to take a 13-9 advantage, leading to Art U calling their first timeout. The Knights stayed within a pair for a handful of possessions, but kills from Krueger and
Nariah Prescott pushed Westmont towards the finish line, forcing Art U's final timeout with Westmont leading 17-12.
Art U pulled back within a pair at 21-19, but a kill from Distelberg and an ace from Hosfeld pushed Art U to the brink. In the end, Prescott's ninth kill gave the Warriors a 25-21 win, and 3-1 match victory to cap off a 2-0 weekend.
Individually, Distelberg and Minch collected 12 kills each, while Distelberg posted a .667 attack percentage. Hosfeld collected 21 assists while
Alexa Shiner added 17 of her own to go along with 10 digs. Defensively, Minch led Westmont with 15 digs, while Distelberg posted a game-high six blocks.
"Offensively and defensively, Phoebe was outstanding," offered McGolpin. "She passed well, hit well, and she was steady. You could see it was coming from warm ups today, her passing was spot on and it led to good things tonight.
"We have a big week coming up, and it'll be tough. It'll be the first time out there for several members of the team, so we're excited for the trip."
The Warriors will embark on Westmont's first-ever Hawaii road trip this coming week, when the team will fly west to take on Hawaii Hilo, Chaminade, and Hawaii Pacific. First on the docket is Hawaii Hilo, whom the Warriors will battle on October 20. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.
