In an intense battle for the GSAC Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship, Westmont came up short against The Master’s, losing in four sets, 25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 26-24, on Saturday night in Fullerton.
“The end result of that game didn’t go our way, but what I saw out there was gutsy play, a lot of heart and a lot of passion. The players left everything on the floor,” said Westmont coach Patti Cook.
Samantha Neely led the way in the final game with 15 kills, Cassidy Rea added 13 and Kaylee Ivie notched 12. Amy Buffham had 44 assists and 14 digs. Lauren Friis totaled 21 digs and 22 serve receptions.
“Master’s played a really good game,” Cook said. “They played a super-disciplined, solid game. They didn’t make many errors, and they didn’t let balls go down easy. That was a big key to their success. We were a little more error-prone that them, but overall all on the day, I am so proud of Westmont Volleyball. We came to fight and to compete and we did exactly that.”
Westmont outlasted Vanguard in five sets in the semifinals (25-21, 20-25, 19-25, 25-17, 15-11).
Hali Galloway and Cassidy Rea each recorded 15 kills in the semifinal while Samantha Neely totaled 14 and Brooklynn Cheney contributed 13. Cheney also tallied 15 digs and 48 serve receptions while Galloway had 17 digs and 16 serve receptions. Amy Buffham dished off 49 assists. Lauren Friis added 23 digs and 15 serve receptions.
The Master’s earned the GSAC’s automatic berth into the NAIA National Championship. Both Vanguard and Westmont are expected to receive invitations as at-large participants. The announcement of the tournament field and Opening Round pairings will be made on Monday.