By Jacob Norling
October 3, 2025
 
(FRESNO, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (7-6, 2-1 PacWest) fell in three at the hands of the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (11-0, 1-0) on Friday night, as the home team rattled off their 11^th straight to open their season. After a tone-setting win in set one, the Sunbirds had their hands full in the latter two games, but ultimately took them both to finish off the sweep.
 
The match was Westmont's third to count against their PacWest standing, while for FPU, it was their first.
 
"We battled," said Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "Our passing was solid, and we didn't give up. We just made key errors in tough times."
 
Early on the Warriors enjoyed a 5-2 lead, but FPU would score eight of the next 10 points to take a lead they would never relinquish. In the end, back-to-back kills from the Sunbirds put the finishing touches on a 25-18 win to open the match.
 
Once again, Westmont sprinted to an early set advantage in the second, when a pair of aces from Lily Underwood and three attacking errors from FPU put Westmont up 5-0. FPU closed the gap in the middle of the set, as the home team eventually turned an 11-9 deficit into a 16-12 lead. The Warriors did answer with a punch of their own later on, when a pair of kills from Maddie Finnegan capped off a six-point swing that saw Westmont lead 21-20.
 
With the Warriors up 22-21, however, the Warriors allowed a kill, a service ace, and committed a pair of errors to surrender a 25-22 win.
 
Westmont once again had a multi-point lead in the third, this time at 14-11 following a kill from Alexis Dennick. Once again, however, the Sunbirds quickly closed the gap, tying the third at 14 all. The game would remain a back-and-forth affair until it reached a tie at 21. Then a pair of kills from FPU along with a Westmont attacking error put the home team up 24-21.
 
Westmont would get back within one, but a kill from Makayla Smith ended the night to give Sunbirds a 25-23 win in the third, and a 2-1 match victory.
 
"There were some runs that just didn't stop in certain points of the game," said McGolpin, "but set two and set three were good sets. Down the stretch, they were just better than us."
 
Individually, Dennick landed eight kills with a .538 attack percentage, while Nariah Prescott finished with eight kills as well. Westmont's two seniors also led the way with five blocks each. Maddie Finnegan led the Warriors with nine kills and 13 digs, while Sierra McClure led with 20 assists.
 
"Lexi Dennick had a nice match," assured McGolpin. "Nariah Prescott had a nice match, offensively. We actually out-blocked them, but they out-dug us on the day. In key moments, we just couldn't make certain plays, but also, Fresno Pacific was just amazing tonight."
 
Westmont will take on Jessup at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night in a match that will not affect the PacWest standings.