Westmont Volleyball jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set against third-ranked Concordia (17-2, 6-1 GSAC) and used the momentum to post a 25-22 victory. But the Eagles came back strong and took the next three sets 25-15, 25-16, 25-16 to claim the win in the Golden State Athletic Conference match at Murchison Gymnasium. Westmont fell to 7-11 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

“I thought we played really well in the first set,” said Westmont head coach Jim Smoot. “We were very aggressive and we served tough. After that we got a little frantic and got ahead of ourselves. But I’m so proud of how the players fought tonight.”

Freshman middle blocker Sami Miller led the way for the Warriors with 11 kills while junior right side hitter Stephanie Dunn added another ten. Freshman setter Kailee Blair tallied 36 assists while junior libero Erin Dohm notched 22 digs and 16 serve receptions. Freshman defensive specialist Stacey Braceros contributed 23 service receptions and 13 digs.

The Warriors got a boost from freshman outside hitter Kate Barton who entered the match in the third set. Barton connected on three of eight attack attempts while posting a hitting percentage of .250. She also tallied three digs and three serve receptions.

“I think we will have to give a strong look at Kate getting some more playing time,” said Smoot.

The Eagles were led by outside hitters Tracie Weamer (17 digs) and Stephanie Scheele (10 digs).

Westmont was playing without sophomore outside hitter Alison Sharp who has led the team in kills the last two matches Sharp who suffered an injury on Saturday, may be out for the rest of the season but will certainly miss the next few matches.

Adding insult to injury, junior Jenise DeBie went down in the third set of tonight’s game and could not return. The nature and extent of her injuries are not yet known. Westmont is also without the service of juniors Laura Trudelle and Katie Lowry who were injured earlier in the Warrior’s season.

“With so many injuries, it feels like we get punch, we get back up, we get knocked down again,” reflected Smoot. “They say that sport provides life lessons. We’re getting one you don’t want to live through and it is a difficult one to handle. But I think the team is handling it great. I am very proud of them for the way they keep battling under adverse conditions.”

Westmont’s next match will be at home against Hope International (4-8, 1-5 GSAC) on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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