By Ron Smith
October 20, 2023
 
(HILO, Hawaii) Westmont Volleyball (8-10, 5-6) didn't find much welcome in the Aloha State on Friday evening, falling to the Vulcans of Hawai'i Hilo (8-9, 5-4) in four sets.
 
"Hilo out-defended us," said Westmont's head coach Ruth McGolpin. "They played with higher energy than us. That is a notorious Hawaiian-type team. Defensive effort always happens on Hawaii teams and they out dug us on everything. Overall, our team had their moments of brilliance, but we just got beat."
 
With the score tied at 12 in the first set, Hilo went on a 6-1 run that included two kills by Chase Koepke. The Warriors were unable to catch up after falling behind 18-13. Westmont tallied just eight kills in the set compared to 15 by the Vulcans, who won 25-17.
 
The second set saw the Warriors put together a 6-1 run of their own to go up 10-4. Phoebe Minch served for three points during the run. Westmont advanced their lead to 15-7 before a Warrior service error brought Hilo's Kamryn Childs to the line. By the time Childs was finished serving, the Warriors had used both of their timeouts and the game was tied at 16 points apiece. 
 
With the set tied at 19 all, Hilo strung together four straight points – including two service aces by Tani Hoke - to take a 23-19 lead. Westmont battled back to within one point when a kill by Nariah Prescott made the score 24-23 in favor of the home team. However, a block by Raelee Samio and Childs ended the set, giving Hilo a two-set-to-none advantage.
 
In the second set, the Warriors nearly evened up the offensive stats (10 kills to 11) and recorded five blocks to just one by the Vulcans.
 
The Warriors rallied in the third set and took control. Westmont posted a .455 attack percentage, tallying 16 kills while committing just one attack error. They also produced three blocks without allowing Hilo a single one. With the score tied at eight, Westmont constructed a 9-2 run to go up 17-10. Minch connected for three kills during the run while Prescott added two. The Vulcans would get no closer than five points the rest of the way. The final point came from Jessie Terlizzi whose kill made the score 25-15.
 
"Our middles were outstanding in the attack in the third set," said McGolpin. "I thought Valerie Coward came in and changed the momentum for us in the third set. She had a solo block, a fluffy hit that went down for a kill and a pancake dig. Those are the types of plays that we needed."
 
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were unable to carry the momentum into the fourth set. The Vulcans used an 11-1 run to take a 12-4 lead. Westmont battled back to come within one point at 18-17, but fell a bit short, losing the last set 25-20.
 
"We need to do a better job after the 'towel timeouts'," observed McGolpin, referring to the breaks in the action to dry the floor. "That is something we have practiced. We let them get the better of us on those 'towel timeouts'. We need to be more mentally strong in those situations."
 
The Warriors will continue play in Hawaii on Saturday when they face #16 Chaminade (21-2, 9-2) in Honolulu. Then on Monday, Westmont will take on Hawai'i Pacific (2-12, 2-8).