Westmont’s Madison Serrano tallied 15 kills and hit .400 in a three-game sweep of San Diego Christian (3-7, 1-2 GSAC) on Saturday afternoon in Murchison Gymnasium. With the win, the Warriors improved to 17-2 on the season and 2-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.
The match is the third this week for the Warriors with the previous matches going five sets each against top-ten opponents.
“We knew going into the match that fatigue was going to be a factor,” said Westmont head coach Patti Cook, “and it definitely was. But, I was really proud of the players’ ability to press through it. Candice (Adema) and Madison have been playing every point of every set of every match. The way the two of them played and pushed through the fatigue was tremendous.”
Despite the fatigue, the Warriors seemed to be growing stronger with every set. After squeaking out a 25-23 win in the first set, Westmont took the second set 25-21 and then claimed the third set 25-17.
“This was a good program that we went up against,” said Cook. “San Diego Christian has definitely improved over the years. Their hard work has shown in the team they put out on the court. We were very confident going into the match, but we also knew it wasn’t going to be an easy match by any means. There are no easy games in the GSAC.”
Sophomore middle blocker Alexandria Wilson made a significant impact on the game, pounding down eight kills on 19 attempts without making a single error (.421 attack percentage).
“Alex did a really great job showing her leadership quality,” said Cook. “She kept the team focused and fired up. It was exciting to see her have some success in this match.”
Junior middle blocker Ciara Turner and junior right side hitter Nichole Miller each added seven kills to their season totals. Two freshmen, Marissa Fuerst, who played middle blocker, and Sydney Striff, who played outside hitter, tallied three kills each.
“I was excited to get Sydney and Missy some playing time,” said Cook. “Missy was real steady in the front row. I put her in for Ciara and she handled being in the front row with Candice very well. When she comes into the front row, and there are only two hitters, she has to be able to put the ball away and she did that. Sydney is still finding her feet on the outside, but she is improving every single practice. She is such an athlete and is fun to watch.”
The Warriors will take to the road next week, playing at The Master’s on Tuesday and at Biola on Saturday. Both matches begin at seven o’clock.
