By Jacob Norling
October 11, 2025
 
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (7-9, 2-3 PacWest) ran into the buzzsaw that is the fifth-ranked Point Loma Sea Lions (14-2, 4-0) on Saturday afternoon. Point Loma followed up its first loss since September 6 with a commanding sweep of the Warriors, who have now lost four in a row, and three consecutive conference contests.
 
"We battled, yet again," assured Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "We had some chances, but we definitely got out-hit. That was really the difference. We just had a hard time stopping them in certain situations. All the other stats are pretty similar, but when it came to the attack, we just did not have an answer."
 
Westmont hung with the Sea Lions to a 13-13 tie in the first set, before a pair of attacking errors and a kill from PLNU forced the Warriors into a timeout trailing 16-13. It was not as though the Warriors didn't put pressure on the Sea Lions, as kills from Ceanna O'Loughlin, Alexis Dennick, Nariah Prescott, and Alexis Dennick pulled Westmont pack within a pair on several occasions. However, Westmont's defense could not give itself a chance to string anything together, as a calm, cool, and collected Sea Lions squad would trade kills to a 22-20 lead.
 
The screws turned a bit tighter then, when another smash from O'Loughlin forced Point Loma into a timeout, with the home team clinging on to a 22-21 advantage. Following the stoppage some defensive miscommunication from the Warriors let the Sea Lions off the hook, as the veteran-laden home team hung on to win 25-22.
 
Set two saw the Sea Lions win seven of the game's first ten points, with McGolpin having to use a timeout trailing 7-3. The deficit continued to grow to as many as eight (16-8), but later on, back-to-back blocks from Dennick sparked some hope as Westmont got back within striking distance at 18-16. It would be as close as the Warriors would get, however, as consecutive service aces from Point Loma restored order in an eventual 25-20 win.
 
Westmont once stayed within reach at the beginning of the third, when a kill from Maddie Finnegan had Westmont within two at 10-8. A couple kills later, though, McGolpin was once again tasked with slowing things down as her team trailed 12-8. The always-electric Maddie Finnegan then did her best to spark the Warriors, with a pair of acrobatic kills pulling Westmont within one at 15-14. While Westmont had its moments of momentum, however, they were never quite contagious enough to put legitimate pressure on Point Loma. Following Finnegan's outburst, Westmont would surrender a 5-1 run preceding its final timeout at 20-15.
 
In the end, Jill Leslie's 10^th kill in 20 attempts was the final blow in a 25-20 win, and 3-0 sweep for Point Loma.
 
"The team continues to learn, and that's a great thing," said McGolpin. "I consider myself a teacher first, and a coach second. There is much learning that is happening with this group of young women, and it's great to see. It was nice to see us bounce back yesterday after a match where we didn't play well. Today, regardless of the result, I thought we played much better.
 
Individually, Finnegan led Westmont with 11 kills to go along with a .360 attack percentage. Point Loma did not allow a single other Warrior to record more than six kills. On the other end, three Sea Lions finished in double-digits, as the home team out-killed Westmont 53-24. Westmont also conceded seven service aces, while only recording two.
 
"Maddie Finnegan was unbelievable," said McGolpin. "She has the heart of a lion, she has the heart of a Warrior. I love to see that."
 
Westmont has two upcoming matches this week that will not count towards its PacWest standing. First up is Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., when the Warriors will play host to the Vanguard Lions.