Five weeks ago, Westmont Volleyball took at perfect 12-0 record into a match in Escondido against Cal State San Marcos and returned home with their first defeat of the year, losing 3-1. Tonight, the #16 Warriors had an opportunity to avenge that earlier loss when the #24 Cougars came calling at Murchison. Avenge they did, sweeping the Cougars 25-17, 25-19, 25-17.
“I am extremely pleased,” said Westmont head coach Patti Cook. “We executed the game plan well. I am pleased with the pressure that we kept putting on them. Our focus remained strong, even when we were two games up.”
The Warriors improved to 17-5 with the win while the Cougars fell to 22-10.
“We were a different team tonight than we were when we first played them,” said Cook. “It is a testimony to the hard work that we have been putting in. We have had our ups and our downs but we have always been moving forward.”
With Westmont down 10-11 in the first set, Sydney Striff delivered a kill from the right side to spur a 5-0 run and establish an advantage the Cougars would not overcome.
“I was really impressed with our two right-side hitters – Marie (Trudelle) and Sydney,” said Cook. “They both hacked a hole in the block with precision and power. They were also very effective in shutting down San Marcos’ best player, Taylor DeGraaf, on the outside. When we can keep her at .100 (attack percentage), we are doing something right with our block.”
Trudelle tallied seven kills on 11 attempts without an error to post a hitting percentage of .636. Striff added another seven kills and a .357 attack percentage.
“I thought that Kami (Troesh) had a really good game for us,” said Cook of her libero. “She made some incredible digs and saves that were very athletic. She came through in a big way on broken plays and her passing was crucial to keeping us in system and able to keep the Cougars’ block on their toes.”
Troesh recorded 16 serve receptions and nine digs.
In the second set, a kill by Trudelle started a 4-0 run that gave Westmont a 10-7 advantage. Once again, the Cougars were unable to close the gap.
The third set saw Westmont take an early 9-4 lead before San Marcos pulled to within one at 12-11. The Warriors rallied with three straight points, but the Cougars did the same, making the score 15-14 and prompting Cook to call a timeout. When play resumed, Westmont reeled off seven straight points to put the game and the match out of reach.
Outside hitter Madison Serrano led the Warriors with nine kills while middle blocker Ciara Turner pounded down seven kills and posted a .375 attack percentage. As a team, Westmont hit .293.
After a two-week hiatus from Golden State Athletic Conference play, the Warriors begin a second trip through the GSAC schedule on Saturday when they travel to Phoenix to take on Arizona Christian (1-15, 0-7).
