It was an exciting night at Murchison Gymnasium as the Westmont women’s volleyball team defeated La Sierra University 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 25-14) in their first home game of the season.
After coming off multiple tournament appearances in the last few weeks, it was time for Westmont to showcase their talent and abilities on their home court. In front of a crowd of parents, students and family members cheering them on, the Warriors did just that.
“The main goals were to be really aggressive, work on our blocking and solidify our defense,” coach Patti Cook said. “We wanted to make sure that we were stopped and in our proper spots on contact. As a result, our blocking was on tonight. We were closing seams and the defense was set around the block which made everyone’s job a little easier.”
Game two could be defined by the high energy on the court. “There was energy, but I think a lot that was nervous energy. I was encouraging them to keeping yelling, cheering and celebrating their awesome kills” remarked Cook.
It was in this game that senior middle blocker Ciena Colburn came alive. She tallied five kills in the set and consistently pulled La Sierra’s blockers, opening the net up to Westmont’s pin hitters.
“Our middles were on fire and it was great to watch. Ciena is doing a fantastic job in the front row for us. She is turning on the heat and it is really fun to see her get her rhythm and limit her errors. I am really proud of the progress she has made so far,” raved Coach Cook.
Game three brought about a little bit of change. Suddenly, the energy was down and things were not quite working out as planned for the Warriors. As a result, they switched to a 6-2 offense, adding more attacking options to their lineup. “I went to a 6-2 in the third game because I want them to be comfortable with it. Alexa came in to set and did a fantastic job. I want our hitters to be effective in both offenses,” explained Cook.
While game three did not go their way, the fourth game absolutely did. “I told them I did not mind a fourth game because it allowed us to work out our jitters, but I emphasized that we did need to take care of business and hold strong on our side of the court,” remarked Cook. With 17 kills, zero errors and a final score of 25-14, it is safe to say that the Warriors did just that.
Other standout performances came from senior Heidi Thompson who finished with 42 assists and libero Kami Troesh who controlled the back row, ending up with 17 total kills.
