BUMP IN THE ROAD

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff women's volleyball team pushed host Redlands in stretches Tuesday night, but the Bulldogs' depth proved decisive in a 26-24, 25-20, 25-18 sweep at Currier Gym.

The Warriors nearly stole the opening set, leading late before Redlands closed on a short run to claim it, 26-24.

Senior outside hitter Samantha Carelock was the focal point for Westcliff's attack, hammering down 13 kills on a .414 clip while adding three blocks. Stacy Folas added 12 kills and Joliayns Roman chipped in seven.

"Carelock had a very efficient game," Westcliff head coach Greg Wakeham said. "She had a lot of kills, high hitting percentage.

"We had some really spectacular digs, some spectacular spikes."

Wakeham credited Redlands' serving and depth for tilting the match.

"Redlands has a very deep, strong and physical team and they served really well today, so we had some challenges in the second game," he said. "But we made it a fight. We rallied. We showed a lot of pride."

Despite the setback, Wakeham said he was encouraged by his team's resilience.

"It was very competitive. We were close. We were two points from winning the first game," he said. "We get a lot of points near the end, when the other team might be up, so we want to try to stick to getting points early and sticking to our fundamentals.

"It's tough to play on a weekday away, and I thought we played really hard. They really care, and they made some great plays."

Westcliff (3-9) continues its road swing Friday night at West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster.