By: Hope Hensley
August 27, 2026
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Westmont Warriors women's volleyball team opened its 2026 campaign on Thursday night with a fierce, hard-fought battle against powerhouse Cal State San Bernardino at Coussoulis Arena. Despite pushing the Coyotes to the brink in every set, Westmont ultimately fell 3–0 (23–25, 19–25, 22–25).
The match featured 15 tie scores and six lead changes, highlighting a closely contested effort where Westmont went point-for-point with one of Division II's top programs.
Warriors Stand Strong in Season Opener
Westmont generated a balanced attack out of the gate, matching CSUSB in total kills (43–43) for the match while hitting an efficient .221 as a team.
Audrey Hyde led the offensive effort for the Warriors, putting down a team-high 12 kills with a sharp .375 hitting percentage, while adding seven digs, an ace, and two blocks. Outside hitters Ava Cotton and Ceanna O'Loughlin delivered crucial production on the wings; Cotton finished with 11 kills, and O'Loughlin added nine kills alongside nine digs.
Setting up the attack, Sierra McClure quarterbacked the offense with 36 assists, five digs, and a block. On the backline, libero Rylee Elias dialed up nine digs and chipped in an ace to lead the defense.
Set-by-Set Breakdown
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Set 1 (23–25): The Warriors came out swinging in the opening frame, racking up 15 kills. Westmont pushed CSUSB to the limit, trading points late into the set before the Coyotes managed to squeeze out a tight two-point win.
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Set 2 (19–25): Westmont maintained efficient offensive execution, committing just five errors and hitting .250. However, CSUSB matched that efficiency with 14 kills of their own to take a 2–0 match lead.
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Set 3 (22–25): The Warriors continued to fight down the stretch, again matching the Coyotes with 15 kills in the third frame. Trailing late, Westmont staged a push to tie the set multiple times before CSUSB sealed the match victory.
Head Coach Ruth McGolpin's Post-Match Comments
On competing toe-to-toe with CSUSB:
"A tough battle. We were toe-to-toe with them the whole match. In terms of play, Audrey Hyde had a nice game, Sierra McClure set the offense really well, and Rylee Elias dialed up the passing and had some great digs. We had good production, too, from our outside hitters Ceanna O'Loughlin and Ava Cotton."
On the takeaways and looking ahead:
"We're back at it tomorrow with another top team, and this is great—preseason is all about the battle. We want to be battle-tested, and I feel like tonight we were toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the country. I'm proud of the girls. We want to marinate on tonight, think about it, and let it out of our system because we'll be right back to play tomorrow."
