By Jacob Norling
November 11, 2024
 
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (13-10, 8-8 PacWest) began their final home stand on a strong note as the Warriors bounced back from a first-set loss to defeat the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans (15-12, 10-7) in four sets. Westmont completely flipped the script on Hilo after trailing in the first set at one point by 10 points, and later on winning the clinching set themselves by the same margin.
 
"We had a big discussion after the Point Loma match about execution," explained Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "We needed to execute in the moment, not look so far in advance, but just execute one play at a time.
 
"We obviously got off to a slow start in that first set, but we still ended up making a game of it. Even though we lost that first game, we were able to gain some momentum back. We started taking good shots, and also had some lucky ones that fell too. From there, we got on fire."
 
It did not look like a fire would be brewing for the first 15 minutes in The Murch on Monday, as Hawaii Hilo opened up the night on a 13-3 run. Then, three kills and two blocks from the tenacious Sara Krueger highlighted a 9-1 run that pulled Westmont back within a point of Hilo.
 
Westmont would carry the momentum and tie the set at 17 and later on at 20, but for the time being, the Vulcans were able to weather the storm to a match-opening 25-22 win in set one. Still, whatever Westmont figured out partway through the set changed everything for the rest of the night to come.
 
The Warriors trailed 13-11 in the second set, before who else but Krueger collected two more kills to draw the sides even. One play later, Taylor Distelberg found the Murchison Gym floor, and the Warriors would never trail again in a set they would go on to win 25-19. Strong attacking from both Audrey Hyde and Nariah Prescott helped drive the Warriors to the finish line in set two to tie the match at one apiece.
 
Westmont's game-changing run in the third set would not take long to develop, when the Warriors turned an 8-7 lead into a 13-7 lead thanks to two more kills from Hyde, and an ace from Distelberg. Moments later, two kills from Alexis Dennick put Westmont up 14-8 in a game where the Warriors turned into a runaway train. At the end of the set, it was once Dennick who got better and better as the night wore on with a game-ending kill to make it 25-18, and 2-1 Westmont.
 
Come set four, the Vulcans looked dead in the water. Hilo would not call their first timeout until Westmont already led 14-7, when at that point, Krueger herself began to bury the Vulcans with two more kills. To finish off Westmont's march to 25, Dennick and Maddie Finnegan collected a pair of kills to put Westmont on the brink. Then, an attacking error for Hilo sealed the deal on what became a dominating 25-15 win for Westmont to end the match.
 
"Our passing was awesome all night long," reflected McGolpin. "Our digging was incredible, and we were led by Rylee Elias again with her fantastic defense. The other thing we did is speed up our free balls, and our passing, and it really opened up the pace for some of our attacking, like for Lexi Dennick specifically."
 
Krueger would ultimately lead Westmont with 15 kills, while Hyde (13) and Prescott (10) found themselves in double-digits as well. Dennick and Distelberg both collected five blocks on the night, while Distelberg also led the Warriors with a trio of service aces. Alexa Shiner led Westmont with 24 assists on a night where her creativity shined, while Elias collected 22 digs as she continues to display her dependability on a nightly-basis.
 
The Warriors return to action on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., when the Warriors host the Hawaii Pacific Sharks in Murchison Gym. Links to tickets and live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.