The Westmont Warriors womens volleyball team opened PacWest Conference play on Wednesday with a 3-0 loss to Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles at CU Arena in Irvine, California. Concordia secured the victory with set scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-17.
The Golden Eagles set an early tone in the opener through strong serving and transition play, finishing with 11 service aces and a team hitting percentage of .218, compiling 40 kills overall.
Westmont struggled offensively, posting a team hitting percentage of .067 with 27 kills but matched Concordia’s defense with 53 digs. Audrey Hyde and libero Rylee Elias each contributed 12 digs. Middle blocker Jordan Weston led the Warriors with seven kills and three block assists. Ava Cotton added six kills, Sierra McClure recorded 16 assists and six digs, and Alyson Wurster contributed 10 digs and two service aces.
The Warriors showed resilience throughout the second set, battling through 11 tied scores and five lead changes, but Concordia pulled away late to take a 2-0 lead. Concordia maintained pressure in the third set to complete the sweep.
Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin commented on the team’s challenges with serve receive and the game as a learning experience. “Concordia is an excellently coached team and they played really well tonight. We had moments of brilliance, but we struggled to find our rhythm in serve receive, which made it tough to get our middle attack involved. Games like this are learning opportunities98212;we have to process it, reset, and get right back to work as we prepare for a great home challenge against Point Loma on Saturday,” McGolpin said.
Westmont will host Point Loma on Saturday, September 12, at 7:00 p.m. in Murchison Gymnasium for their home opener.
CSB Take
Westmonts loss in the PacWest opener highlights areas requiring improvement, notably serve reception, which inhibited offensive rhythm. The Warriors displayed defensive tenacity and strong individual efforts, particularly by Jordan Weston and the back row. This early challenge should serve as a valuable learning opportunity as Westmont prepares to leverage these experiences in its upcoming home match against Point Loma, aiming to enhance offensive execution and return to the winning column.
Source: Original report
