Eighth-ranked Westmont Women’s Volleyball started off the Golden State Athletic Conference with a three-game sweep (25-18, 25-14, 25-20) of conference newcomer Arizona Christian.
The win was the eleventh in a row for the Warriors (15-1, 1-0 GSAC) and broke a six-game winning streak for the Firestorm (7-7, 0-1).
“ACU came out serving very tough,” reported Westmont head coach Patti Cook. “They gave us a few problems initially, but once our passing started picking up, we were able to run our middle blockers who were very efficient.”
Ciara Turner was credited with 13 kills and a .409 attack percentage while Alexandria Wilson recorded kills on nine of 11 attempts without committing an error, giving her a .818 attack average for the match.
“It was a very energetic match,” said Cook. “ACU had a lot of energy and kept their attitudes very positive throughout the match. If you had looked at the demeanor of the teams alone, you would have thought that ACU was winning. I respected them a lot for that. Our team had more of a taking-care-of-business look on their faces.”
That business attitude led the Warriors to a team .229 attack percentage while holding their opponent to .057.
“ACU did an interesting lineup where their setter pushed an outside hitter,” said Cook. “When their outside hitter was in the front row, she would pass from the middle of the court and then swing around and hit. That gave us a fun serving target.”
The match marked a bit of history as Arizona Christian participated in its first Golden State Athletic Conference event of any sport.
The Warriors return home to begin a three-match home stand on Tuesday night when they welcome #2 Concordia (14-0, 1-0) to Murchison Gymnasium for a seven o’clock match.
“We have a few tweaks we need to make to our defense to adjust to Concordia’s star left-handed player, Brooke Marino” said Cook. “It is different defending against a lefty than a righty, but we are looking forward to the match.”
Marino was last year’s NAIA Player of the Year.
