IRVINE – In a high energy match, the Westmont women’s volleyball team took a game off of #3 Concordia tonight in Irvine. Despite the eventual loss (25-16, 14-25, 23-25, 23-25), the Warriors put up a fight against a nationally ranked team who has a history of beating down teams in three quick games.
When you are taking the court against a team like Concordia, everything comes down to one thing: defense. It is crucial that the front row puts up a strong, solid block and touches more ball than not. Tonight, the Warriors did just that. With a high block count, they were able to slow down the heavy hitting offense that was continually coming at them. In the second to last match of her collegiate career, senior Ciena Colburn lead the team with six block touches and was closely followed by pin hitter Sydney Striff who earned five.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Eagles have stand-out outside hitter Hannah Andrews who was a powerhouse on the pin tonight. With a grand total of 21 kills, Andrews could not be stopped. While the Warriors were getting a block up, they were unable to consistently dig the heavy hitter.
Offensively, Westmont had a rough match. With both Maricic and Serrano hitting negative percentages this evening, they were unable to find a steady rhythm that was needed to run a quick offense. The hitters simply were not connecting well with their setters, making execution quite difficult. Thompson finished with 17 assists while Nestlerode had 14.
With a high arm swing and strong contact point, Sydney Striff was the saving grace of the Westmont offense this evening. With 12 kills on 19 attempts, she was taking the opportunities that she had to put the ball away. Colburn was next in line with nine kills, while Taylor Beckman tallied seven.
With this loss, the Warriors fall to 17-14 (8-7 GSAC) this year. They will take the court one final time this season in a match at Hope International on November 15 at 7pm.
