Westmont Volleyball (7-7, 0-5 GSAC) took control of game one and built a six point lead (21-15), but couldn’t close the door as #3 California Baptist (11-2, 4-1 GSAC) came back to take game one 30-27 and then went on to win games two and three by scores of 30-22 and 30-26.

“I don’t want to be redundant from our game with Fresno Pacific,” said head coach Jim Smoot, “But I was pleased that we went after Cal Baptist and went hard against another top team in the NAIA. But I don’t want to have to say that any more. I want us to get a win against one of these (top ranked) teams.”

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Malinda Reese tallied 55 service receptions and 34 digs while Katey Lowry tallied 11 kills in a volleyball battle at Fresno Pacific which the Warriors lost 3-1 (30-22, 30-17, 18-30, 30-12).

“I thought we played really well,” said head coach Jim Smoot, “especially against the #1 team in the nation. I was very proud of the aggressiveness and the fight that we showed.”

The Warriors spread the offensive attack around. Beth Widicus posted nine kills while Laura Trudelle added nine more. Katie Sharp and Janise DeBie each added seven more with DeBie recording an attack percentage of .368.

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Westmont Volleyball (7-4, 0-2) made it interesting in the first two games, but in the end, succumbed to #5 Biola in three games (30-26, 30-26, 30-15) on Saturday at Murchison Gymnasium. Laura Trudelle led the offensive attack for the Warriors with eight kills while Beth Widicus and Stephanie Dunn added six more each.

After falling behind 8-2 in game one, the Warriors battled back to within two points to produce a 24-26 score. However, Westmont could not narrow the margin any closer and lost game one 30-26. Apparently trying to avoid serving to senior Malinda Reese, the NAIA National Libero of the Week, the Eagles made Widicus their target of choice in the first game. But the sophomore was up to the task and handled all 16 serves sent her way without an error. For the match, Widicus recorded 27 service receptions with only two errors while Reese notched 26 with only 1 error. Trudelle added another 18 serve receptions without making a mistake.

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A trio of sophomores led the Warriors on Thursday night at Murchison Gymnasium as Westmont Volleyball swept California Lutheran (30-25, 30-18, 30-27). Right side hitter Stephanie Dunn posted nine kills in a .471 attack-percentage performance and also posted four blocks on the night. Middle blocker Katey Lowry also tallied nine kills while hitting .333 and recorded five blocks. Outside hitter Beth Widicus contributed 10 kills to the Warriors stats along with six service aces.

“The setters were doing really well,” said Dunn, “so that always helps. And the passing was really on.”

Senior setter Katie Pace and freshman setter Ally Rios each totaled 21 assists while senior libero Malinda Reese, the reigning NAIA National Libero of the Week, averaged 10 digs a game and had 23 serve receptions.

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After being named the Libero of the Week for the Golden State Athletic Conference on Monday and the same for the NAIA Region II on Tuesday, Westmont’s Malinda Reese was announced today as the NAIA National Libero of the Week. The honor is based on performances during the week ending September 2.

The only other time a Westmont volleyball athlete has received a weekly honor at the national level was in 1996 when Carrie Tinkham was named Player of the Week.

Reese, a resident of San Carlos, California, competed with the Warriors at the Concordia Crowne-Plaza Labor Day Volleyball Festival in Irvine this past weekend. In the team’s second match on Friday, played against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Reese tied the school record with 44 digs – a record she set on September 16, 2005 against Point Loma Nazarene.

Senior libero Malinda Reese of San Carlos has been named the first Golden State Athletic Conference Volleyball Libero of the Week for the 2007 season. It is the sixth time in her career at Westmont that she has received the honor.

Reese competed with the Warriors at the Concordia Crowne-Plaza Labor Day Volleyball Festival in Irvine this past weekend. In the team’s second match on Friday, played against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Reese tied the school record with 44 digs – a record she set on September 16, 2005 against Point Loma Nazarene.

On Saturday, Reese established a new single match record of 55 digs in a match against Doane (Neb.). In the four games of the Festival, Reese recorded 159 digs, and 152 serve receptions.

Senior libero Malinda Reese recorded a new Warrior record with 55 digs in a single match, but Westmont Volleyball (6-2) found themselves leaving the 2007 Crowne-Plaza Labor Day Festival hosted by Concordia with a disappointing 2-2 performance at the two-day event.

On Friday, the Warriors knocked off #14 Northwestern (Iowa) in four games (30-23, 30-26, 27-30 30-28). The victory was the first this season over a ranked opponent. In Friday’s second match, Westmont defeated Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), once again winning in four games (31-33, 30-28, 30-24, 30-19).

Sophomore outside hitter Beth Widicus tallied 17 kills and 16 digs in the final two matches of the Roberts Wesleyan Volleyball Tournament in Rochester, New York, to help the Westmont Warriors (4-0) win the tournament championship. Widicus was named Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by senior libero Malinda Reese.

The Warriors completed their sweep of East coast teams with 3-0 victories over Point Park (30-26, 30-18, 30-25) and Mercyhurst (30-28, 30-20, 30-26), both of Pennsylvania.