Westmont Volleyball (12-4, 6-2 GSAC) lost a heartbreaker on Saturday night in Murchison Gym against the visiting Life Pacific Warriors (9-2, 6-2). After falling down 2-0, Westmont fought back and outscored the visitors 50-34 in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth.
Unfortunately, the home-Warriors were unable to finish the comeback, ultimately dropping a fifth set 15-12 to end the night.
“I’m proud of how we battled,” said Westmont head coach Ruth McGolpin. “We could have easily folded in three. We battled to the end, and it got away from us, but you have to have it to Life Pacific. That’s a good team over there.
“LPU hit without hesitation. It was reckless hitting, and in a good way.”
The night began with a 4-0 run by Westmont, but Life Pacific responded with a 7-0 swing of their own to turn the tables. Westmont continued to counter however, with an ace from Keelyn Kistner giving the home-Warriors a 15-12 advantage, their largest lead since the initial run.
However, Life Pacific responded by winning seven of the match’s next eight points, going on to lead 19-16. The run continued shortly thereafter with Life Pacific going on top 24-20. Westmont went on a three-point swing to bring the crowd to their feet, but a kill from Mackenzie Stewart silenced the late rally and gave Life Pacific a 25-23 win to open the night.
“The tide changed in set one,” said McGolpin. “You lose in five, but not winning the first set was the difference maker. It was the first-set loss that was demoralizing.”
In the second set, Life Pacific widened their lead in the middle of the game and never looked back. Up 11-9 already, the road-Warriors scored on three consecutive opportunities to stretch the lead to 14-9.
The deficit proved to be too much to overcome for Westmont, who never again tied the set. In the end, a kill from Bailey Collette gave Life Pacific a 25-21 win, and a 2-0 set lead.
Westmont arrived to the party in the third set, but only after Life Pacific threatened to sweep with an initial 9-5 advantage. Then, a kill from Lexi Malone followed by a pair of kills from Taylor Distelberg swung the game’s momentum, and revived the Murchison-faithful.
Down 13-12, Jessie Terlizzi collected a kill that put Illyssa Ocampo at the service line in a 13-13 game. Ocampo was the only woman to serve for the next nine points as Westmont exploded on a 9-0 run to take control of the set.
A kill from Phoebe Minch gave Westmont a 25-15 win to keep the match alive.
Westmont took control of the fourth set following an 8-6 deficit. From there, 10 Westmont kills headlined a 14-3 run for the home team that put them ahead 20-11 with the fifth set in sight. After a last-second run from Life Pacific, a kill from Sara Krueger ended the set by a score of 25-19, forcing the decisive fifth game.
Westmont opened the final set by leading 4-2, but Life Pacific got off the mat just in time to put the home-Warriors on their heels. After falling behind 4-2, the road-Warriors built tension in the gym with a four-point swing to go on top 6-4.
Westmont battled back to take an 8-7 lead following another ace from Kistner, but it would ultimately be the last lead Westmont would have all night. Down 8-7, Life Pacific recorded three kills, and got help with a Westmont attacking error to flip the script and lead 11-8.
Westmont trimmed the deficit to one at 11-10, 12-11, and 13-12, but never again tied the set. In the end, Westmont’s 21st attacking error of the night silenced Murchison Gym and gave Life Pacific a 15-12 win.
“When we switched sides, we were leading 8-7,” reflected McGolpin. “We had one of their best attackers in the back row at that point, so I felt like good things were going to happen. In the end, though, we made errors.
“I was saying ‘no risk, no reward’, but at the end of the game we didn’t take risks. They beat us in the end.
“We have to continue to learn from this, and I hope that the team recognizes we didn’t lose this match in the fifth set, we lost it in the first. Recognizing that has to be a learning experience.”
Westmont returns to the court on Oct. 7, when they host Ottawa (Ariz.) at 7 p.m.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
