Westmont volleyball, ranked number 25 in the NAIA, took #11 Vanguard the distance, but suffered a heart breaking 3-2 lost to the Lions 24-26, 25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 15-13. With a 2-1 lead in the match, Westmont held a 19-15 lead in the fourth set, but could not hold on to pick up the win.
“We played hard and played great defense,” said Westmont head coach Jim Smoot. “But I don’t think we showed the patience and the consistency that we did last Saturday against Point Loma. We had 36 hitting errors and hit just .130 for the match. That is not going to cut it against the number 11 ranked team in the country.”
Vanguard improved its overall record to 16-10 and its conference mark to 10-7. The Warriors are now 15-12 overall and 6-11 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.
Westmont was led in hitting by Katelyn Lowry who recorded 13 kills and also had five block assists. Alison Sharp and Stephanie Dunn added another nine kills each while Kate Barton put up eight kills.
“Kate didn’t get a lot of attempts, but she hit .389,” said Smoot. “She played really smart – tipped the ball, swung and hit corners. Vanguard’s wing digger was guessing what she was going to do next. Kate also had four block assists and a solo block.”
Kailee Blair and Candace Adema, Westmont’s two setters, recorded 24 and 23 assists respectively. Adema also had six kills on nine attempts for a .667 attack percentage. Erin Dohm tallied 22 digs and Kristin Schroeder added another 19.
“I told the team they shouldn’t hang their heads,” said Smooth, “they played great against a really good team. They’re going to be disappointed, but they should be pleased with the effort and pleased with the improvement we’ve shown throughout the season.”
Westmont will take on #10 Biola on Saturday night in a seven o’clock game at Murchison Gymnasium.
