Young Warriors will Bounce Back from Controversial Finals Loss
More so than the sport of football, women’s indoor volleyball is a game of momentum. More so than the sport of basketball, women’s indoor volleyball is a game of runs. Women’s indoor is a game of energy, both mental and physical, and last Saturday at the Saint Katherine Sports Complex in San Marcos, the Westcliff women’s volleyball team captured the energy, the momentum, and were on a n epic run — surging toward the California Pacific Conference championship — up 2-1 over defending Cal Pac champion, Park-Gilbert, and holding an 18-15 fourth-set advantage. And then everything changed.
By Brandon Petersen
More so than the sport of football, volleyball is a game of momentum.
More so than the sport of basketball, volleyball is a game of runs.
Volleyball is a game of energy, both mental and physical, and last Saturday at the Saint Katherine Sports Complex in San Marcos, the Westcliff women's volleyball team captured the energy, the momentum, and were on an epic run — surging toward the California Pacific Conference championship — up 2-1 over defending Cal Pac champion, Park-Gilbert, and holding an 18-15 fourth-set advantage.
And then everything changed.
The play began normally, with a serve and receive, and in the middle of the action, a Buccaneer middle blocker rolled her ankle and dropped to the floor. The ball was returned to Westcliff's side and another Buccaneer kneeled to help her fallen teammate.
Westcliff set up Elise Brown for a kill, and Brown knocked it center court, past a diving Park player.
The play was never whistled dead.
But during a lengthy delay in action in which the Park training staff examined the player before helping her off-court, the officiating crew met, and eventually informed the Warriors that they were taking away their 19th point.
Afterwards, Westcliff head coach Kenny Ma said the crew told him that because Park quit playing during the play, they were taking the point away.
Energy snuffed. Run halted. Momentum killed.
The benefactors of a free timeout, and a generous ruling, Park went on to win the set, 25-23.
Had the Warriors been given the point they earned by not quitting on a play that wasn't whistled dead, the score would have been 25-24, and the match would have continued.
Having captured the momentum, made a run, and brought all the energy back to the Arizona block party that was Saint Katherine's gym, the Buccaneers earned their first opening point of the day in the fifth set and went on to win 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-7) and defend their Cal Pac championship.
After the contest, Ma said he and his players had accepted the officials' decision, no matter how frustrating it was.
"I am extremely proud of our team for peaking at the right time and really playing at their best at the end of the season," Ma said. "Obviously, it is still frustrating and disappointing to not pull off the win, but our players laid it out there for their final match."
That is especially true for Westcliff graduate students, Leonor Chambel, Michelle Do and Brooke Scheidle.
Scheidle has been a Warrior from the beginning, and Do joined as Westcliff embarked on its Cal Pac journey.
Chambel joined this season and developed into the team's full-time libero.
All three were absolutely fantastic both Friday and Saturday, raising the Warriors level of defense exponentially, and leading the group to the brink of the championship.
Scheidle (eight kills) led the way in solo blocks (1), Do in assists (23) and Chambel in digs (19).
"Truly, I want to praise every single one of our athletes for their hard work and commitment this year," Ma said. "This has been one of the greatest teams that I have had the privilege to work with."
A vast majority of Westcliff's roster is made up of underclassmen, and many of them are major contributors.
The future is bright.
All Cal Pac first-team performer Fiona Moesching was nothing short of spectacular, both Friday and Saturday, as the Warriors' lethal outside threat.
She finished the finals with 19 kills.
Maddie Shepston, a junior, is the Warriors' leader, a two-time All Cal Pac performer and a Cal Pac champion (Beach).
She had five kills and 14 digs.
Elise Brown, still a sophomore, is a Cal Pac champion (Beach), an All Cal Pac performer, and an emerging outside threat.
She had 10 kills, five block assists and four digs.
Abbey Beckwith (four kills, eight block assists) is just a freshman.
Lina Ellila (15 assists, 12 digs) is a sophomore.
Dana Manu (four kills) is a junior.
Ava Himstreet (nine digs) is a freshman.
"We have such a great group of athletes who are just happy to be with one another," Ma said. "It made coming to the 'office' a lot easier. They all did a great job of buying into our culture and truly establishing our foundation for years to come."
The Warriors went from a seventh-place Cal Pac finish a season ago to a Cal Pac runner-up finish this year.
More importantly, they established a culture that will sustain in the years ahead.
Although he was disappointed in the finish, Ma said the team did much better than he expected, and he is incredibly proud of what they accomplished.
"The team developed immensely from start to finish," he said. " We knew we weren't the most physically-gifted team, but we knew we had all the right pieces. We focused a lot on our infinity stones (serve, serve receive, defense) and those components, along with our team's grit and intelligence really propelled our success."
Westcliff's goals for next season are to continue the culture established this season, to win the conference convincingly, to garner the respect of NCAA programs, and to make an impact at the national level by competing for an NAIA championship.
Lofty goals, but within reach.
"We need every single member of our program to buy in 100-percent to the team and culture," Ma said. "It will take the continuous commitment of our returners and coaches to hold each other, and our newcomers, to our standards and expectations."
The Warriors went down to San Marcos knowing that they would be on their own.
On Friday, they played against Saint Katherine in a packed facility full of Firebird fans.
On Saturday, Park was joined by Embry-Riddle, Benedictine and Saint Katherine in the gym.
They had no friends — and were shown no favors — yet they nearly beat the champs and brought the trophy home.
"I just want to say how grateful I am to be a part of Westcliff athletics," Ma said. "Through all of our successes and failures, our Westcliff family never fails to show their love and support for our program. The Westcliff family culture is different from any program that I've ever been a part of.
"The scary thing is, this is only the beginning."