By Jacob Norling
October 3, 2024
 
(IRVINE, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (6-6, 1-4 PacWest) pushed the Concordia Golden Eagles (6-7, 1-4) to five sets on Thursday night, but in the end, CUI was able to hold off the Warriors for a hard-earned win. Westmont responded to two early losses with a pair of wins to force a fifth set, but in the fifth, the Golden Eagles pulled away quickly to send the Warriors home with a sour taste in their mouths.
 
In the first set of the night the Golden Eagles took a 6-5 lead early on, and the Warriors never again tied the set. The deficit grew to its peak at 20-12, in an eventual 25-19 win for Concordia. The same thing could be said in the second set, this time following Concordia taking an 8-7 lead. The second got even more lopsided in favor of Concordia, with the scoreboard reading 25-15 to put Westmont in a 2-0 hole.
 
Westmont got dangerously close to reading the same chapter in the third set, when the Golden Eagles led 19-14 heading into the game's final stretch. However, kills from Nariah Prescott and Audrey Hyde highlighted a four-point run that sparked a sense of belief within the Warriors. Another kill from Hyde tied things at 21, and then, kills from Alexis Dennick and Sara Krueger pulled Westmont within a point of victory. Moments later, an attacking error from CUI gave the Warriors new life with a 25-23 win.
 
In the fourth set, Westmont jumped out of the gates early with a 6-3 win, before the Golden Eagles responded with five consecutive points to force McGolpin into an early timeout. From there, the two sides traded points to an 11-11 tie, before the Warriors went on a 9-4 run to take full control of the set.
 
It was another kill from Hyde that pushed Westmont into the 20's leading 20-15, with the fifth and final set within reach. In the end, Prescott's ninth kill gave the Warriors a 25-18 win to push the match to its breaking point.
 
Set five did not have a fairytale start, however, with the Golden Eagles riding an ace and a pair of Westmont errors to take a 5-2 lead. At that point, McGolpin once again spent an early timeout. The stoppage did little to slow the Eagles, who led 8-3 as the two switched sides. One play later, after another CUI kill, McGolpin called for one final stoppage.
 
Another late kill from Hyde forced the Eagles into a timeout leading 11-8, but Concorida regrouped to finish off a 15-9 win in set five. For the third consecutive match the Warriors went to five sets, but for the second time in three tries, Westmont fell one set short.
 
Individually, Hyde led the Warriors with 14 kills while hitting .370, while Krueger and Prescott added 11 and 10, respectively. Rylee Elias led the Warriors with 19 digs, while Ella Hosfeld led the team with 26 assists. Alexa Shiner added in 21 assists and 12 digs of her own.
 
Ruth McGolpin afterwards said, "Shout-out to Rylee Elias in the libero role, and Alyson Wurster as well. Sara Krueger played great as well, but in other areas, we have to start coming up with solutions. I loved the fight we showed in sets three and four; we definitely have a bit of cardiac kids in us.
 
"Still, we had a heartfelt conversation afterwards about not just playing for yourself, but playing for the team. We need to be starting games off mentally in a better place, and coming in with some confidence."
 
Westmont will return to Santa Barbara for homecoming on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., when the team plays host to the Dominican Penguins. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.