By Jacob Norling
November 2, 2024
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (12-9, 7-7 PacWest) moved back up to .500 in conference play after outlasting the Academy of Art Urban Knights (6-17, 5-10) in five sets. Westmont has now won four of their last five matches, as the club has continued to play their most consistent volleyball of the year as of late.
 
"Yesterday was an emotional game, but I knew today would be a physical game," reflected Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "Academy of Art is athletic, and I knew we'd have to bring it. We played pretty good in set one, before two and three got away from us. Then, we flipped the lineup, gave it a completely different look, and it worked."
 
Set one saw the two tango to a tie at 14, before a pair of kills from Valerie Coward sparked a 6-2 run to put Westmont in control. Westmont later on led 24-20, but a pair of kills from ART U delayed a first-set win for Westmont, and prompted McGolpin to call timeout. One play out of the stoppage, Coward's third kill put the finishing touch on a match-opening 25-22 win.
 
Set two saw the Urban Knights respond as the road team took an early 2-1 lead and then never trailed again in the set. An ART U service ace put Westmont in a 12-7 deficit, which led to McGolpin's first timeout. While Westmont had a few moments of excitement to try and build in heart of the set, eventually, McGolpin used her final timeout with the team trailing 20-13. A four-point swing out of the timeout put ART U on their heels for a moment, but the road team quickly regrouped to hold off the Warriors 25-19 to tie the match at one apiece.
 
A kill from Taylor Distelberg gave Westmont a 16-14 lead in a hyper-competitive third set, but after ART U responded with two kills and an ace, it was once again McGolpin's timeout with Westmont trailing 17-16. Matters only grew worse two plays later, after a pair of borderline calls sent a frustrated Westmont team back into a huddle trailing 19-16 and with no timeouts left.
 
Things continued to head in a downward spiral for Westmont in set three, as the Warriors were unable to prevent a 25-19 ART U win to swing the match 2-1 in the opposition's favor. Following Distelberg's kill, Westmont was out-scored 11-3 during the set.
 
The Warriors got off to a much better start in the fourth, this time forcing the Urban Knights back to the drawing board after a pair of kills from Sara Krueger and an ace from Rylee Elias gave Westmont an early 9-6 lead. After ART I's first timeout, however, the Warriors kept the Knights on the ropes with blocks from Krueger, Distelberg, and Coward. Two more kills from Krueger and Coward capped off what became a 13-5 run to open the set, allowing Westmont to quickly consider pushing the match to its breaking point.
 
A 21-10 lead for Westmont turned into a 21-15 advantage, leading McGolpin to use one of her two timeouts with the Warriors still comfortably in front. The pause was enough for Westmont to regroup and finish off the fourth, as kills from Krueger and Audrey Hyde put the set to bed with Westmont winning 25-17.
 
ART U scored the second point of the fifth and final set to tie things at one, but it would be the visitor's last opportunity to have something to cheer about. Following the 1-1 tie, kills from Distelberg and Hyde bookended a four-point run that sent the Knights into an early timeout trailing 5-1. The Warriors would not stop there, however, with another finish from Hyde followed by one more from Dennick putting Westmont up 8-1.
 
The Urban Knights never truly threatened in a set that ended with Hyde's 15th kill of the match to give the Warriors a 15-8 set win, and 3-2 match victory.
 
"Set five was a statement," said McGolpin. "Our blocking was solid, and we got some really good rips from Audrey. Taylor was able to get on the board as well, it was the best she's been in a few weeks.
 
"It was a great effort on our part. Coming back and winning this one, even if it took five, was something we needed. It's no secret we have a tough road ahead with Point Loma. We've won four of five, but they're on an 18-game winning streak. Still, why not us?"
 
Westmont now has a week to prepare for a trip to San Diego and battle with Point Loma on November 9 at 2:00 p.m. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.