Three day’s after upsetting #12 Biola at Murchison Gymnasium, Westmont women’s volleyball took to the road to take on #6 Fresno Pacific. The Warriors fell to the Sunbirds 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 14-25, 25-22).
“We came out flat in the first two sets,” said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. “Coming off a big win, it is hard to get your heart back into it. The team started with a lack of energy. In the third set, we put in Alex (Wilson), Heidi (Thompson) and Hannah (Jacobson) and it put a little heart back into the team. We came out strong, caught Fresno Pacific by surprise and dominated the set.”
With the score tied at three-all in the third set, the Warriors took control with a 14-1 run. The offensive juggernaut included two service aces each by Madison Serrano and Chelsea Dornseif as well as three kills by Tessa Martin.
“We had a really good serving night,” said Cook. “We got Fresno into trouble with their passing by serving up 10 aces against only two errors. In the fourth set, we got back to our flatness, but made a tremendous comeback.”
Down 24-15 in the fourth set, Tessa Martin connected for the last of her team-high eleven kills. That sent Dornseif back to serve for the Warriors. Dornseif’s power serving, that included two service aces, kept the Sunbirds off balance as the Warriors scored the next six points to pull within two at 24-22. However, a kill by the Sunbirds’ Kathleen Anderson ended the Warriors run and the match.
“Stacey (Braceros) has been playing great the last couple of games,” said Cook of her senior defensive specialist. “Tonight, she had a couple of phenomenal digs.”
Next up for the Warriors is a visit to Concordia in Irvine on Saturday night.
