Warriors Battle Back to Win Five-Set Thriller

Warriors Battle Back to Win Five-Set Thriller
October 20, 2023
By Francisco Claudio
 
The Westcliff women's volleyball team dug deep and battled back down a set to win it in five against the UC Merced Bobcats: 20-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 15-10.
 
The Warriors were able to snap their losing streak against a very good UC Merced team as they continue to make a final push for a postseason slot.
 
First, lets highlight the strong performances from the Warriors including Sam Lister who has just been a consistent force all season long.
 
Lister recorded 36 assists, 12 digs, and eight kills. This was a season-high in assists for Lister who was all over the floor making sure the Warriors had one more chance at scoring.
 
Faith Webb had one of her best games of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs. Webb led the way in kills for the Warriors and her aggressiveness paid off especially in the fourth set. 
 
Abbey Beckwith and Danna Manu both had nine kills and Brooke Scheidle followed with eight.
 
Beckwith came up with some timely kills that switched the moment towards Westcliff when they needed it the most. 
 
Every set was a battle between both teams and the Warriors were able to respond every time they were down.
 
Westcliff lost the first and tied it up in the second. Then after losing the third set they came back to win the fourth and push it to the fifth set. 
 
"Most steady constant energy the team has in any one match all season," said head coach Andy Cole. "The matchup with Merced is intriguing because it is a backcourt defensive battle.  
 
"It's a great start to the weekend and we will recover, prepare, and start over again tomorrow."
 
The Warriors are in the last leg of the regular season and will need every win they can get to give themselves a chance for a playoff spot.
 
Their current Cal Pac Conference record is 5-9 which puts them in the eight spot.
 
They need to rise up to the sixth spot in order to qualify for the postseason tournament. 
 
Up Next: Westcliff plays again on Friday against Simpson with a start time of 7PM.
 
Then on Saturday they are back at it again against Pacific Union with a later start time of 8PM.