Senior outside hitter Beth Widicus pounded home 15 kills while senior Stephanie Dunn added 12 more from the right side as Westmont Volleyball swept #14 Point Loma Nazarene (17-9, 7-9 GSAC) in San Diego on Friday night in a Golden State Athletic Conference match. The Warriors (14-11, 5-10 GSAC) made only eight hitting errors and posted a team attack percentage of .364.
“It was about as flawless a match as my team has ever played here,” said Westmont Head Coach Jim Smoot. “They were running the offense and playing great defense. Our passing was great. It was pretty close to as good as you can play.
“I should go right down the line and compliment everybody,” said the coach. “Beth hit great and Steph was hammering the ball. Kailee Blair would get a dig on the left side and shoot a really hittable set back to Steph (on the right side). Kate Barton had four block assists and one solo block. Erin Dohm almost played perfect. She passed great defensively and was serving rockets – hard, deep serves.”
Tied at 13-all in the first set, Dunn produced two kills in a 4-0 run to put Westmont ahead for good. Up 24-20, the Warriors gave up three points to let Point Loma pull to within one at 24-23. But a kill by Barton put an end to the Sea Lion threat and gave the Warriors a one set to none advantage.
With the game tied at five in the second set, the Warriors went on an 8-2 run, forcing Point Loma to call a timeout with the score 13-7. Point Loma scored the next two points after the timeout, but it was too little, too late as the Warriors cruised to nine point win.
Westmont posted a .538 attack percentage in the second set, tallying 16 kills on 26 attempts while committing only two errors.
If Coach Smoot had any concerns about his team letting up with a 2-0 lead, he need not have worried. The Warriors turned an 8-8 tie into a 11-8 lead and once again refused to let the Sea Lions back into the game.
“They maintained their focus throughout the match and took it play-by-play,” said Smoot “It was a nice balance; they were fired up throughout the match and still maintained their composure.”
Up 21-18 in the third set, Barton closed the roof with a solo block to put the Warriors in front by four and force a Sea Lion timeout. After the timeout, Dunn and Barton made sure the roof was still closed, stretching the Warrior lead to 23-18.
The Sea Lions rallied to score the next two points, prompting Smoot to call just his second timeout of the night. Widicus thwarted the Sea Lions attempted comeback with her fifteenth kill of the evening giving the Warriors match point and sending Stacey Braceros to the service line. The game ended with an exclamation mark as, according to Smoot, “Steph Dunn blocked a ball straight down about two feet from the net. It was a great ending.
“We had the realization of our potential,” continued the coach. “It came together. The team was so pleased with their effort and they just had a lot of fun.”
The Warriors will remain in the San Diego area this evening so they can take on San Diego Christian on Saturday at three o’clock.
