By Jacob Norling
September 29, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Volleyball (7-5, 2-0 PacWest) played with heavy hearts on Monday night in an eventual sweep of the Hawaii Pacific Sharks (4-12, 0-5). That is because before the match began, it was finally time for the team to celebrate one of their former mainstays.
 
The night began in emotional fashion when the Warriors, in their pink uniforms, honored the late Sarah McGough Murray. Murray, who played for the Warriors from 2013 to 2016, and helped coach the team from 2017-23, passed away this January following a courageous battle with cancer.
 
With her mom, Yvonne, dad, Marty, husband, Jacob, and daughter, Emerson, present, the Westmont Volleyball program announced that Sarah's number 29 uniform would be officially retired, never to be worn again by a Warriors' volleyball player.
 
In reflection, head coach Ruth McGolpin said, "It was truly a special night. To retire Sarah's number, to have her family here and to celebrate Sarah for all she has done to support this program, it was special. As hard as it was emotionally, it needed to be done.
 
"I was glad we could do it on September 29, the night that we made it official that no other player will ever wear 29."
 
The Warriors took care of business following the touching pregame festivities, with Westmont eventually sweeping Hawaii Pacific 25-13, 25-18, 25-18. Westmont held HPU to a microscopic attack percentage of .083, with seven blocks from Alexis Dennick highlighting the team's strong defense at the net. Nariah Prescott and Maddie Finnegan each added three blocks of their own, as Westmont out-blocked HPU 10-6.
 
Offensively, Maddie Finnegan collected nine kills, while Dennick had eight and Ceanna O'Loughlin added seven. Westmont's ever-reliable libero Rylee Elias was nails on Monday as well, with the sophomore collecting 22 digs to go along with a trio of service aces.
 
"The goal was to beat this in three, which we did," acknowledged McGolpin, "but I'm still not satisfied. At times I thought we could have given a little more, but still, I am happy with a win.
 
"I thought Rylee played amazing. Not just defensively, but her serving was amazing as well. Then, as a whole, we were able to finish this one three, which is what we had to do. Time to get ready for a tough road trip at Fresno and Jessup."
 
An early reminder for Westmont Volleyball fans that the team will only play 12 matches that count against the Warriors' PacWest record in 2025. Tonight was the second, with the Warriors now 2-0 in official PacWest play. The top-four teams in the standings at year's end will qualify for the first-ever PacWest Volleyball Tournament.
 
The Warriors return to action on Friday night at 6:00 p.m., when the team travels up the freeway to take on the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds. Friday's match will be Westmont's first road game that will count towards its PacWest standing.