By Jacob Norling
November 22, 2024
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) It was a frustrating Friday night for Westmont Volleyball (14-12, 9-10 PacWest) in Rocklin, where Jessup (14-11, 10-8) swept Westmont in a rather dominant affair. The night progressively slipped away from Westmont, with Jessup winning the match 25-23, 25-21, and 25-16.
 
The first ended on a sour note that set a bad tone for the evening, with Westmont letting one slip away after leading 21-17. Westmont then conceded three kills and an ace, to go along with a Westmont attacking error that allowed Jessup to flip the script at 22-21. Still, Westmont rebounded to take a 23-22 lead. However, it would be the last time that Westmont scored in set one. A service error tied it, a Jessup kill game them the lead, and a Westmont attacking error capped off a gut-wrenching 25-23 loss.
 
In the second set, the two sides traded points to a 20-20 tie, but then, Jessup closed out the set on a 5-1 run thanks to a trip of Westmont attacking errors. Then, in set three, Jessup scored the first three points of the game, and never allowed Westmont to even tie it afterwards. Westmont faced a 15-4 deficit, an 18-7 deficit, and a 22-9 deficit before a late surge made the final score look slightly more presentable.
 
Still, the damage was done in a 25-16 loss to finish off a sweep for Jessup.
 
"It's tough to find words after such a frustrating night," acknowledged Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "I think we have more fight in us than we showed out there. We've been getting punched a lot lately, and it just seems like we've been unable to punch back. I hope we can respond tomorrow."
 
Westmont's season will conclude on Saturday afternoon, after a 2:00 p.m. match with Dominican in San Rafael. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.