Tessa Martin tallied 13 kills and Marie Trudelle added 11 more as #14 Westmont Women’s Volleyball (21-8, 7-7 GSAC) defeated Hope International (6-21, 2-12) in straight sets in the final Golden State Athletic Conference match of the season.
The Warriors took the first set 25-13 after jumping out to a 7-2 start. Leading 18-12, the Warriors reeled off six straight points to put the set out of reach.
The second set was more closely contested. Tied at five, the Royals put together a 7-2 run, forcing Westmont head coach Patti Cook to call time out with the score 12-7. When play resumed, Westmont scored on the next four serves with two kills from Ciena Colburn (8 kills) and one each from Martin and Trudelle.
Westmont caught Hope International at 14 on an attack error by the Royal’s Johannah Wade and a seesaw battle commenced that saw the score reach 22-22. Following a second Westmont timeout, Martin produced a kill and Wade misfired to give Westmont set point. Another kill by Martin gave Westmont the win in the set 25-22 and a lead of two sets to none.
Katie Napier (28 assists, 11 digs) started the third set from the service line as the Warriors scored the first five points. After giving up one point on a service error, the Warriors gained a side out on a kill by Trudelle. Kayta Goyich (6 kills, 16 digs) then served for the Warriors who claimed the next four points to go up 10-1.
Westmont stretched its lead to 18-5 before the Royals began to get some traction. However, it proved to be too little too late as Westmont won 25-18 to complete the sweep.
The Warriors finished fifth in the GSAC standings and must now wait until tomorrow for the final NAIA national ranking and the National Championship field of 36 teams to be released. On Monday, the NAIA will release the opening round pairings that are scheduled to take place at 12 campus sites around the nation.
The Warriors are expected to remain within a place or two of their current #14 ranking. As such, they are also expected to host an opening round game on November 23 on the Westmont campus against an opponent yet to be named.
