Westmont Volleyball, twelfth ranked in the NAIA, swept #21 Vanguard (16-14, 6-7 GSAC) in three sets 25-23, 25-18, 25-18 on Tuesday night in Costa Mesa.
The Warriors (23-8, 6-7) will close out the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Fullerton for a match with the Royals of Hope International (3-20, 1-12). If Westmont prevails on Saturday, they will receive an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championships and participate in their first national tournament since 2002.
Junior outside hitter Tessa Martin tallied 12 points and a .333 attack percentage to lead the Warriors offensively.
“Tessa had a lot of success,” said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. “Vanguard has a good block, but she kept chiseling around them and Vanguard couldn’t quite figure out what to do with her. Nicole (Miller) was doing a lot of good things on the right side which created a bunch of holes in the Vanguard defense. She was coming in hard and being smart. It freed up our outside and middles to be able to find more openings in the block.”
Madison Serrano tallied nine kills and 18 digs for the Warriors while middle blockers Ciara Turner and Marissa Fuerst recorded eight kills each and hit .316 and .500 respectively.
“Missy did a great job in the middle and played beyond her years,” said Cook.
The Warriors never trailed in the first set, though the Lions tied-up the game at 21-all. Back-to-back-to-back kills by Martin gave the Warriors set point at 24-21 before the Lions scored twice to make it 24-23. Martin then finished off the set with another kill.
Westmont continued to press their advantage in the second and third set to make short work of the match.
“We scouted thoroughly and knew the tendencies of where their hitters want to go,” said Cook. “To have the team execute the defense and adjust to their hitters was a good thing.”
The final NAIA National Poll will be released on Sunday, November 11. If the Warriors move up just on place in that poll, they will receive a bye in the Opening Round of the National Tournament. If not, the Warriors will host a first round game on Saturday, November 17 against an opponent to be determined.
Winners of the opening round games, together with those receiving first round byes, will advance to pool play at the final site of the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Second round action begins on Tuesday, November 27.
