By
Jacob Norling
September 19, 2025
(LA MIRADA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (5-4) pushed the Biola Eagles (7-3) to five sets on Friday night in La Mirada, but in the end, a career-night from one of Biola's best was the difference-maker in a five-set loss for the Warriors.
"It's a tough loss," acknowledged Westmont head coach
Ruth McGolpin. "Biola played amazing. Kendall Vandertuig was absolutely incredible with 26 kills, and we just could not find a solution for her."
Indeed the Warriors could not find the right equation to limit the damage that Vandertuig would do, with the redshirt senior's career-high 26 kills coming with a .311 attack percentage. For good measure, the Tulare native also landed four service aces to go along with three blocks.
The night started with two kills from Vandertuig, and it would be a sign of things to come in an eventual 25-16 win for the Eagles to open the night. The Warriors made their first legitimate run of the evening in the middle of the second set, when the team turned a 12-10 deficit into a 16-12 lead thanks in large part to the blocking of
Nariah Prescott and Camila Cornejo Farmer.
Following tie at 19, a pair of kills from
Alexis Dennick as well as another from Cornejo-Farmer allowed Westmont to outlast Biola 25-22 to even things up. In the third set, Westmont looked to be off to the race, when another kill from Cornejo-Farmer saw the team lead 13-6. However, following Westmont's early lead, Vandertuig sparked the Eagles with six kills during a steady run that saw Biola take a lead at 24-23.
Still, Westmont sophomore
Maddie Finnegan rose to the occasion with consecutive kills to swing things back in the Warriors' favor. One play later, a block from Dennick and
Audrey Hyde allowed Westmont to escape the third set with a 26-24 win. For Finnegan, four of her team-high 17 kills came during the third set. Cornejo-Farmer finished with 10 kills as well, while
Rylee Elias led the Warriors with 20 digs, and
Sierra McClure led Westmont with 24 assists.
"On our side of the net, Maddie had her usual, really good game. Lexi Dennick had some kills, and Cam played really well as well. Tonight, we just weren't able to have a real run of points that gave us momentum back, even though we were up two games to one."
Like McGolpin said, while Westmont led after three, Biola seemed to be swaying things in their favor in the aggregate, which they proved in the final two sets. Westmont initially led 4-0 in the fourth, but before the team could begin to imagine a sprint to the finish line, a sudden-surge from Biola saw the Warriors staring up at a 10-7 deficit they would never fully erase. The fourth set ended by a score of 25-15, and for Biola it was a run that never seemed to end.
The Eagles dashed towards an 8-3 lead in the fifth set, and while the Warriors fought with resilience to pull within a pair late, the deficit was too much to overcome. The match ended with Hannah Guzzetti's seventh kill to give Biola a 15-11 win, and a match victory over the Warriors in five sets.
Westmont will quickly turn the page, as the Warriors will host the Menlo Oaks on Saturday night in Murchison Gym. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. for what will be Westmont's first official PacWest contest in 2025.
