By Jacob Norling
September 20, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (6-4, 1-0 PacWest) took care of business in their first countable conference match of the season on Saturday, when the Warriors swept the Menlo Oaks (1-8, 0-2). Nights like Saturday mean all that more for the Warriors, as the team officially begins its chase of qualifying for the first-ever PacWest Volleyball Tournament.
 
Saturday's sweep moved the Warriors to 25-1 all-time against Menlo, with a perfect 10-0 record in The Murch.
 
"We talked about it before the match," acknowledged head coach Ruth McGolpin, "we needed to make this a 3-0 sweep."
 
The Warriors took a minute to remember that task early on, when a 6-1 deficit forced McGolpin to use an early timeout. Minutes later, trailing 9-4, the Warriors arrived with a 6-0 run highlighted by a pair of kills from Ceanna O'Loughlin. The Warriors would never trail again in a set they ultimately won 25-23 after a set-ending finish from Audrey Hyde.
 
The Warriors put their foot on the gas to open the second set, when Rylee Elias refused to leave the service line for several minutes. Before the Oaks could rotate once, Elias and the Warriors led 7-0 thanks to a run that featured a pair of kills from Maddie Finnegan. The closest Menlo would get in set two was a four-point deficit, one that the Warriors would not allow to get any closer. Two more kills from Finnegan featured at the finish line in set two, when the Warriors won 25-19 to take a 2-0 advantage.
 
The third set saw Menlo hang with Westmont towards the middle of the game, before Nariah Prescott found the floor and sparked a four-point run that saw the Warriors lead 14-8. The Oaks would get within three on a couple occasions, but the Warriors calmly marched towards the finish line, where O'Loughlin and Finnegan each tallied one more kill to make it a 25-20 final, and a 3-0 sweep for the Warriors.
 
"We never really took grasp of any sets, to be honest," reflected McGolpin, "but we did enough to get the job done. Ceanna O'Loughlin was awesome, and Maddie Finnegan as well, again. I thought Rylee did an amazing job as well, with both defense and passing."
 
Finnegan finished the night with 12 kills and an attack percentage of .310, while O'Loughlin recorded eight kills and hit .467. Elias was credited with six digs, and also recorded a pair of service aces.
 
McGolpin continued, "I thought our passing was solid, and a major thing was the fact that we didn't make many errors. I also felt like yesterday we didn't take risks, and tonight we did. Risks in both serving, and also in the attack. And that's good. You can't always play it safe."
 
Westmont ended the night hitting .344, while the Warriors held the Oaks to a .191 attack percentage. Westmont committed half as many attacking errors as their opposition on Saturday (10-20).
 
The home faithful will have another chance to watch the Warriors on Wednesday night, when Westmont hosts Chaminade at 7:00 p.m. The reigning PacWest Champs went 20-0 during PacWest play a year ago. This season, the Silverswords are 6-7, and 1-0 in conference play.
 
"We have to control what we can control," said McGolpin. "In my time we've not beaten Chaminade, but I'm confident we can."