The 2009 Westmont women’s volleyball team began the 2009 campaign with four games at the Azusa Pacific Cougar Classic on Friday and Saturday and walked away with an early-season record of 3-1.
Westmont’s only loss came in the first match on Friday when the Warriors fell to Eastern Oregon 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 16-25, 27-25). Junior outside side hitter Alison Sharp recorded 21 kills in the match and posted a .364 attack percentage. Senior outside hitter Beth Widicus added another nine kills while seniors Katey Lowry, Stephanie Dunn and Jenise DeBie each added six to the kill tally. Sophomore setter Kailee Blair posted 29 assists. Sharp and Stacey Braceros led the defensive effort with 15 digs apiece.
Later on Friday, the Warriors earned their first win of the season with a sweep of Holy Names (25-18, 25-12, 25-14). Widicus led the Warriors with nine kills while DeBie and Dunn each added seven. Blair tallied 20 assists in the three-set victory while senior libero Erin Dohm notched 16 digs.
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On Saturday morning, the Warriors faced #23 Doane (Neb.) and found themselves down two sets to none (25-20, 25-22). But the Warriors rallied in the third set with a convincing 25-15 victory. After winning the fourth set 25-21, Westmont completed the comeback with a 15-10 win in the fifth set.
Lowry, a middle blocker, posted 15 kills on 26 attempts, notching an attack percentage of .500. Widicus added another 14 kills while Sharp connected for 11. Dunn and Sami Miller each posted eight kills. Freshman setter Candace Adema recorded 27 assists and Blair added 26 in the Warriors’ 6-2 offensive game plan. Sharp tallied 26 digs and Dohm added 23.
Westmont had a much easier time of it against Mayville State (N.D.) in the final game on Saturday, defeating the Comets in three sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-15). Lowry continued her stellar play, notching 14 kills and an attack percentage of .480. Widicus added another 11 kills and Katie Barton posted nine kills and a .571 attack percentage. Blair’s assist total was 28 in the match, with Adema tallying another 19. Dohm contributed 17 digs.
Next up for the Warriors is a match against the alumni on Saturday, August 29 at three o’clock in Murchison Gymnasium. The Warriors will host two matches next week. On Tuesday, Westmont will host Cornerstone (Mich.) at 5:00 p.m. in Murchison. Then on Wednesday, Westmont will open Golden State Athletic Conference play with a five o’clock match against California Baptist.
