By Jacob Norling
November 1, 2023
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) After dropping a match to Hawai'i Hilo in four sets on the road, the Westmont Warriors returned to the favor on Wednesday night in Santa Barbara. Following a first-set loss, an enthusiastic Westmont team rebounded to win three-consecutive games, taking the match in four in front of the home crowd.
 
The win gave Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin her 100th win at the helm, making her the fifth coach in 50 years of program history to reach that total.
 
"I wish it came a little sooner," laughed McGolpin, "but I'm glad it came. I take a lot of pride in the fact that this program has really taken me in for the last five years, and while a hundred wins is great, I want to win a hundred more."
 
Both teams steadily traded points to begin the night, with neither side being pushed out of their comfort zone early. The first timeout of the night came following a multi-point run in the middle of the first set, when back-to-back kills led to a 16-13 lead for the Vulcans.
 
Immediately following the timeout, a strong string of serves from Malia de Jesus allowed the Warriors to draw even at 16, but the Vulcans once again led by a trio of points as the game entered the 20's. (20-17). The Warriors were unable to close the gap the rest of the way, as Hilo opened the night with a 25-21 win.
 
A pair of kills by Sara Krueger highlighted Westmont taking a 6-5 lead to open set two, but following a four-point swing by the Vulcans, McGolpin called timeout with Westmont trailing 9-6. The Vulcans maintained their distance for most of the game, but finally, Westmont was able to knot things up at 20 following a Hilo attacking error.
 
The two teams traded eight points to a 24-24 tie, and then, an emphatic block from Nariah Prescott and Taylor Distelberg put Westmont on the verge up 25-24. Moments later, a Distelberg service ace put the finishing touch on a thrilling 26-24 set win to tie the match.
 
Following a 7-6 score to open the third set Westmont began to distance themselves from Hilo, sparked by kills from Sara Krueger and Jessie Terlizzi. Following a 4-1 run, the Vulcans called timeout trailing 11-7, and immediately scored three points of their own to pull within one. McGolpin called her own timeout at that point, with Westmont still leading 11-10, but out of the timeout, the Vulcans scored four more times to flip the script 14-11.
 
In a back-and-forth game it was then Westmont's turn to change the narrative, scoring four consecutive points to take a 15-14 lead. Moments later, following back-to-back kills from Krueger, Hilo used their final timeout trailing 19-17. From there, the Warriors would not be stopped, with kills from Alexis Dennick and Krueger capping off a 25-19 win to take set two.
 
Westmont built a multi-point lead early in set four, but saw it start to disappear following a three-point run by Hilo. At that point, Westmont was clinging on to an 11-10 advantage. Out of the timeout, Westmont put the match away for good.
 
With four kills, a pair of aces, and a Hilo attacking error, Westmont followed the timeout with a 6-0 run, forcing a Hilo timeout with the Warriors leading 17-10. Towards the end of the set, a whistle that was later on deemed to be inadvertent was argued by Hilo head coach Chris Leonard. While the apparent protest went without being upheld, the conversation amongst the referees caused a delay of more than 10 minutes.
 
Sometime later, Dennick's fifth kill of the night gave the Warriors a 25-21 win, and 3-1 match victory.
 
"The first game we came out super flat," began McGolpin, "but it lit a fire under us. This team is very similar to us. They're a little bit on the smaller side, and great defensively, so yesterday's practice was all about defense to try and replicate their strengths."
 
McGolpin continued, "Sara Krueger had the Midas touch tonight. Everything she touched turned to gold, and we made sure to tell Shiner to keep feeding her. Taylor Distelberg had a great night as well, and Lexi Dennick was dominant at times."
 
The Warriors return to action on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., when they host Hawai'i Pacific. Ahead of the first serve of Saturday's match, the Warriors will honor their seniors, Phoebe Minch and Jessie Terlizzi. Links to tickets and live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.