By Jacob Norling
September 17, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (5-3) had held their own in seven neutral-site contests to open their season, but on Wednesday night in Santa Barbara the real fun began when the Warriors got to showcase their best in front of the home crowd. After narrowly losing a first set to the Concordia Golden Eagles (6-2) the Warriors, and the Westmont faithful, never wavered in an eventual four-set victory.
 
"The crowd came out," noted Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. "It was an all-athlete night, and it was just great to have the students back in the gym. Getting off the road and into our home gym, it was an awesome night."
 
While Concordia jumped out to a 19-13 lead in set one, Westmont responded with a late surge in the lid-lifter, allowing both the Warriors and the crowd to gather some belief as the night progressed. Early excitement peaked when Nariah Prescott landed back-to-back kills, pulling Westmont within a pair at 23-21.The Warriors would get within one at the last second, but CUI's Nevada Knowles found the floor for a set-clinching 25-23 win to open the match.
 
Still, things appeared to be trending upward as the Warriors began an uphill climb.
 
"The environment was loud," explained McGolpin, "and I told the players, 'you can't rely upon your voice. You have to use different senses like vision of your teammates and the floor'. There were plays that were falling and it's just because the environment was loud. That was uncharacteristic for us, but the thing that was nice was the fact that we clawed back. That definitely gave us momentum in set two."
 
In the second set, the electrifying sophomore Maddie Finnegan had her way with the opposition, landing six skills to spark a 25-20 win. Finnegan started the third set the same way, and with consistent production from both Alexis Dennick and Camila Cornejo-Farmer, the Warriors pulled away late to take a 2-1 advantage.
 
Westmont led most of the way in set three, but after CUI made it 19-18, a pair of kills from Cornejo-Farmer, along with finishes from Finnegan and Audrey Hyde, saw Westmont grow its lead to 23-18. One more kill from Finnegan followed by a block from the captain Dennick, and the Warriors entered the fourth set looking to put the Golden Eagles to bed.
 
Eventually, Finnegan would end the night with a match-high 17 kills along with an attack percentage of .382.
 
"Maddie was unbelievable," smiled McGolpin. "She came in today saying she was having a tough time concentrating in classes, just so ready to go for tonight. She was on fire, both offensively and with the blocks as well.
 
"Our serving was so much tougher as the match went on, too. It allowed both Lexi and Cam to throw it down at the net, and that was awesome to see".
 
In set four CUI hung with Westmont to a 7-7 tie, but a three-point swing highlighted by both a kill and a block from Dennick gave the Warriors a lead they would never again relinquish. Up 22-19, Cornejo-Farmer's 11th kill pulled the team within a pair of a win. Then, it was newcomer Ceanna O'Loughlin who had the honors of putting the match on ice, with the transfer's fifth and sixth kills putting an end to the evening by a final score of 25-19 in the fourth set.
 
Elsewhere, the sure-handed Rylee Elias collected 15 digs, while also landing a pair of service aces. Newcomer Sierra McClure took advantage of her Murchison Gym debut, and sophomore Lily Underwood took advantage of her newfound opportunity as both setters finished the night 21 assists each
 
"Rylee, our libero, was solid," nodded McGolpin. "From one play to another you know you can rely on her, and she keeps the group calm. We've been encouraging Rylee to use her voice more, and that's allowing her to provide more leadership on the floor. Tonight, she did that."
 
At the net, Dennick led the way with six blocks, while Cornejo-Farmer and Finnegan each had four. Overall, Westmont out-blocked CUI 11-5.
 
"We stuck to the game plan from start to finish," said McGolpin. "The team did their homework. They did their own scouting report, and we ran through what we thought Concordia might do. To me, that preparation allowed us to be disciplined in our blocking. To execute something like that, when you spend so much time on it in practice, is awesome. On to the next."
 
The next is a matchup with Biola on Friday night in La Mirada. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.