[Volleyball] Hawks Make History Defeating (25) Westmont
EL CAJON, Calif. – San Diego Christian College continues to prove they are contenders in the new era of the GSAC by defeating the nationally ranked (25) Westmont Warriors for the first time since 2005. With the 3-2 victory (25-15, 25-23, 19-25, 21-25, 16-14), the Hawks improve their record to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the GSAC.
In the opening set, it felt that this night would be different than the previous 33 meetings. Jumping out to a quick 10-4 lead on the excellent service of Anuhea Kaohi, the Wesmont coach would be forced to call an early timeout to try and stop the Hawk momentum. It would prove fruitless as SDCC would take the set easily (25-15), spreading the kills around and forcing ten Warrior errors while committing only one.
The second set was much tighter, with each team making 6 attacking errors. The Hawks would once again come out on top, however with Kaohi and Jessica Pinasco combining for 10 kills. Pinasco would complete 16 kills over the course of the match, scoring from the backline as well as at the net.
Although SDCC would drop the third and fourth sets, the Hawks showed their grit by making the Warriors earn every point. On multiple occasions, San Diego Christian would force long rallies as Ayanna Nunuha, Kayli Barrera and Pinasco would frustrate Westmont making seemingly impossible digs.
The tiebreak would be where the Hawks showed their mettle. The "never give in" approach to each point was on full display as the lead changed hands four times before being deadlocked at 14-14. Immediately following a Hawk timeout, a Pinasco kill would grab the lead for the Hawks for good. After the Warriors committed an attack error on the following serve, history was made.
It must be said, tonight was no fluke. Coach Gene Krieger has built a squad that has proven time and time again this season that they can play with the best that the NAIA has to offer. From the opening serve tonight, San Diego Christian displayed the confidence, poise, and grit that a winning team must possess. Backed by the loud, full-house crowd, the victory was a total team effort.
Coach Krieger had this to say about the historic win, "It was a great overall team effort tonight. Anu (Anuhea Kaohi) had a great match, hitting .345 and the team served up 9 aces. The sub-five error ratio is our best of the season. The packed crowd made it a fantastic environment. Everybody in attendance will remember the night that we beat Westmont for the first time in a long time. It was a very memorable and exciting night."
UP NEXT:
The Hawks travel to Santa Clarita, Saturday to take on the Master's Mustangs (6-9, 2-3 GSAC) at 6:00 pm.