September 10, 1994. That was the last time Westmont Volleyball defeated Fresno Pacific – until tonight. Playing in front of a small but vocal crowd in Murchison Gymnasium, the Warriors did what they have not done in 17 years against the Sunbirds – they won, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20). The last time Westmont defeated Fresno Pacific, the matches were played using side out scoring.
The win, which comes three days after the Warriors defeated then number 14 (now number 11) Biola in five sets, improves Westmont’s record to 8-7 in Golden State Athletic Conference play and 10-13 overall. Ninth-ranked Fresno Pacific falls to 10-5 in the GSAC and 14-9 overall.
“One of our focuses tonight was to keep Fresno Pacific in trouble,” said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. “They are an extremely gifted offensive team, but we were able to get them in trouble and out of their offensive rhythm.
“To be honest, we weren’t playing the best we could play, but we played smart,” asserted Cook. “We weren’t as explosive as we can be, but we were picking up the subtle things of the game.”
In the closely contested first set, neither team gained more than a two point advantage until the very end. With the score tied at 22-all, Madison Serrano recorded one of her team-high 12 kills to put the Warriors up by one. A Fresno Pacific attack error made it set-point for the Warriors and caused Fresno Pacific coach Kelly Winter to call a timeout. With Serrano serving, Tessa Martin (6 kills) delivered the lethal blow, putting the Warriors up by one.
The second set was a very different story. Westmont took control by jumping out to a 9-4 lead. Fresno Pacific was able to pull within two points at 16-14, but Westmont scored the next four points, two on kills by Alexandria Wilson (7 kills, .353 attack percentage) as the Warriors pulled away from the Sunbirds. Westmont posted an attack percentage of .308 in the second set, the best of the night.
“We didn’t play all that well in the first game,” offered Cook. “We played more to our level in game two.”
Down two sets to none, Fresno Pacific rallied and put up a 6-1 lead to start the third set. That proved to be an adequate margin to keep the Warriors at bay.
“Before the fourth game, I used the word ‘team’ with (the players) quite a bit,” said Cook. “It looked like we were starting to get too intense. I had to remind them that we do better when we play together.”
Playing together is just what they did. Like the first set, neither team posted more than a two point advantage until half-way through. At 13-13, Fresno Pacific reeled off three points, two on kills by Jessie Alcorn (18 kills).
After Cook called a timeout, Westmont responded with their own three-point run, tying the game at 16-all. That brought Winter off the bench to call another timeout. The match was still tied at 18 all when Kayta Goyich connected for one of her eight kills followed by Wilson and Nichole Miller putting up a block on Martina Gregusova (17 kills).
Gregusova responded with a kill making it 20-19 but Wilson responded with her seventh kill of the evening and then teamed up again with Miller for another block of Gregusova to put Westmont up 22-19.
Gregusova struck again for the Sunbirds, making it a two point game at 22-20, but it was the last point Fresno Pacific would get. A kill by Miller made it 23-20 before Gregusova sent an attack long to give Westmont match point. Ciara Turner (11 kills) provided the final nail in the coffin.
As a result of the victory, Westmont is now in sole possession of fifth place in the GSAC standings, one game ahead of Biola and #17 Point Loma Nazarene, and one game behind #13 Vanguard.
Saturday, the Warriors will host the top-ranked team in both the GSAC and the NAIA when the Eagles of Concordia pay a visit to the Montecito foothills. First serve is scheduled for seven o’clock.
