By Jacob Norling
October 13, 2024
 
(HONOLULU, Hi.) Westmont Volleyball (8-7, 3-5 PacWest) got back on the plane with a win under their belt after leaving their Hawaii road trip with one win in two tries. Westmont's road trip began with a tough matchup against the Chaminade Silverswords (15-4, 8-0), who swept the Warriors to begin the weekend.
 
Reflecting on Westmont's loss, head coach Ruth McGolpin said, "Obviously they were better than us in almost every facet, but we did fight. The future continues to look bright for us, playing so many freshmen, which included our bright spot offensively, Audrey Hyde. Sara Krueger had a strong night as well, but unfortunately we could not muster enough offense against a strong Chaminade team."
 
In a match the Warriors ultimately lost 25-18, 25-16, 25-18, Hyde collected four kills while Krueger added in seven of her own. Ella Hosfeld and Alexa Shiner added nine assists each, while Rylee Elias led the Warriors with 11 digs during the contest.
 
The Warriors were quick to get back up off the mat one night later, when the team took care of the Hawaii Pacific Sharks (1-13, 1-7) in four sets. A blur of a first set went Westmont's way 25-9, before the Warriors took control in the second with a 25-19 win. The Sharks did provide their home crowd a hint of excitement in the third set, when HPU outlasted the Warriors 25-22 to force a fourth set.
 
The inevitable result came to fruition in the fourth set, when the Warriors ended the night with a 25-16 win to secure a happy flight home.
 
A relentless Krueger led the way with 17 kills during the match, while Hyde and Maddie Finnegan joined her in double-digits with 11 and 10, respectively. Alexis Dennick and Krueger also set the tone defensively, where the two collected seven blocks each. Sticking with Westmont's youth-movement themes from their first contest, Aaliyah Czernin contributed with six blocks. Elias once again led the way with 23 digs, while Shiner recorded 28 assists, and Hosfeld added 21.
 
Reflecting on the win, McGolpin said, "Audrey Hyde was amazing and unstoppable at the net. Then collectively, our blocking was incredible against HPU. It was the best we have looked in quite a while. Sara once again had a nice night, and so did Valerie Coward who stepped in.
 
"It was also a great defensive effort, with Kaili Hashimoto, Rylee Elias, and Alyson Wurster doing a great job. We're excited to be back in Santa Barbara and we're excited to get back after it against Vanguard this week."
 
Westmont will return to action in Southern California on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., when they reconvene with the Vanguard Lions.