By: Hope Hensley
September 26, 2026
COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Westmont women's volleyball team delivered a complete, relentless performance on Saturday afternoon, claiming a thrilling 3–1 victory (25–27, 30–28, 25–22, 25–21) over rival Vanguard at the Freed Center for Leadership and Service.
Junior outside hitter Ceanna O'Loughlin put on a stellar offensive showcase to lead the Warriors (5-8, 2-3 PacWest). O'Loughlin hammered down a match-high 22 kills while hitting a blistering .333 on 45 total attacks.
"Ceanna O'Loughlin was absolutely stellar today with 22 kills, hitting .333—it was blistering," said Westmont Head Coach Ruth McGolpin. "We had great offensive production from Audrey Hyde and Valerie Coward, but our middles as well were firing on all cylinders with the amount of attempts they had. Our serve receive passing was absolutely stellar, and that's what set everything up."
Audrey Hyde posted 12 kills on an efficient .370 hitting percentage, while Valerie Coward added 11 kills. In the middle, Camila Cornejo-Farmer hit .409 with 10 kills and Jordan Weston added nine kills while hitting .278. Setters Lily Underwood and Sierra McClure coordinated the balanced attack, dishing out 34 and 28 assists, respectively.
After narrowly dropping the opening set 27–25, Westmont responded in an epic second-set marathon that featured 12 tie scores and three lead changes. Facing a rotation crunch late in the frame after running out of substitutions, 5-foot-2 defensive specialist Malia de Jesus was pressed into playing front-row defense. The Warriors dug deep, outlasting Vanguard 30–28 to even the match at one set apiece.
"In set two, we ran out of subs, and Malia de Jesus—all 5-foot-2 of her—had to play the front row, and that's the set we won," McGolpin highlighted. "It was an unbelievable, relentless performance with lots of courage and fire. We got a little hungrier on the defensive end, and that was key for us against Vanguard."
Westmont carried that momentum into the final two sets, leaning on crisp ball control and sharp defense. Rylee Elias led the backline with a team-high 13 digs, while Coward notched 12 digs and Coward/Hyde combined for critical blocks at the net. The Warriors closed out the third set 25–22 before putting away the fourth 25–21 behind a match-best .448 team hitting percentage in the final frame.
"It was a complete game from the start of the whistle to the end of the whistle from everybody on the team," McGolpin added. "We hope to continue that as we host Biola."
