Westmont's Kailee Blair sets one of her hitters during Westmont's 3-1 victory in its home opener vs. Cornerstone (Mich.)
Murchison Gym saw its first regular-season action of the 2009-10 school year on Tuesday, and Westmont’s women’s volleyball team started things off on the right foot with a 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22 victory over Cornerstone (Mich.).
The Warriors were stellar in the middle, as Katelyn Lowry and Samantha Miller combined for 28 kills and hit for an even .500 average. Westmont hit at a combined .259 clip while the Golden Eagles finished at .237.
Westmont coach Jim Smoot was happy with the win, but felt his team will need to be much more focused once the conference season begins. The Golden State Athletic Conference is nightmarish this year, as it includes the top four nationally ranked teams in the NAIA and a total of seven teams in the top 20. Westmont is not one of those teams, but did receive votes in preseason polls.
“I thought we lost focus a couple of times today,” said Smoot. “(Cornerstone) made some really good adjustments. We weren’t as sharp as we wanted to be, but overall it’s nice to win those matches.”
The second set was tied at 10 apiece before the Warriors won three straight points and stayed in control down the stretch. In the third, the Golden Eagles stormed out to a 7-1 lead and the Warriors were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. They finally did catch up as Jenise DeBie posted a kill on a slide-set to tie things up at 21-21, but the visitors held them off to take the set.
Westmont never trailed in the fourth game, which ended on two straight put-aways by Stephanie Dunn.
Dos Pueblos graduate Erin Dohm led the Warriors with 16 digs in the match, while Kailee Blair and Candace Adema tallied 37 and 18 assists, respectively, in Westmont’s 6-2 offense.
Westmont (4-1) opens GSAC play by hosting third-ranked Cal Baptist on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
