The Westmont women’s volleyball team lost a second straight match to visiting Corban University Saturday, but made improvements encouraging to coach Ruth McGolpin.
The Warriors, ranked 9th in NAIA, pushed 15th ranked Corban to five sets after getting swept Friday.
“It was definitely better than yesterday,” McGolpin said.
“However, in the end it boils down not to physical talent, but to mental strength. These matches are not a sprint, they are a marathon. We have to keep improving and a lot of that improvement needs to be done in between the ears.”
Phoebe Minch led Westmont with 13 kills, while Addie Paul and Jessie Terlizzi each had nine. Minch and libero Kaili Hashimoto shared a team-high 16 kills, while Sydny Dunn posted a game-high 21 assists.
The Warriors have a week of practice ahead of them before flying out to Bellevue, Nebraska for a four-game tournament beginning on September 3. All four teams Westmont will face in Nebraska are currently ranked in the top-25 of the NAIA.