Westmont won two matches on the opening day of the La Sierra Women’s Volleyball Tournament in Riverside on Thursday.
The NAIA 7th-ranked Warriors started the day with a five-set win over No. 16 Cornerstone of Michigan, 25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 15-11. The returned to the court in the evening and swept host La Sierra 25-19, 25-19, 25-12.
Junior right side hitter Samantha Neely led the way for the Warriors against Cornerstone, tallying 21 kills on a .288 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Libby Dahlberg added 18 kills and produced a .414 attack percentage. Sophomore right side hitter Cassidy Rea posted 11 kills. Freshmen outside hitters Hali Galloway and Brooklyn Cheney each contributed nine kills to the Warrior cause.
In the decisive fifth set, Westmont jumped out to a 10-1 lead. Four of the Warrior’s points came as the result of service aces – two by junior setter Amy Buffham and two by Cheney.
Buffham tallied 34 assists and 10 digs for the Warriors. Camryn Kaina was credited with 26 assists and nine digs. Cheney led the team in both digs (34) and serve receptions (44 – no errors). Senior libero Lindsay Paulo tallied 22 serve receptions and 15 digs.
Against La Sierra, Galloway produced 10 kills to lead the Warriors while posing a .316 attack percentage. Senior middle blocker Emma Harrah connected for seven kills and a .375 attack percentage and Neely added six.
Buffham recorded another 21 assists while Kaina collected 12. Paulo was good for 11 digs and nine serve receptions while Cheney tallied 20 server receptions and nine digs.