SR. NIGHT SWEEP

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff women's volleyball team closed out its home slate with a fitting celebration Saturday night, sweeping Pacific Union in straight sets to cap Senior Night with a performance full of joy, chemistry, and heart.

The Warriors (11-12, 4-3 Cal Pac) dominated from the opening serve, hitting .412 in the first set and never looking back.

Senior outside hitter Samantha Carelock led the way with 12 kills, while setter Amanda Ferreira distributed 28 assists and added a pair of aces.

The 25-12, 25-19, 25-21 win marked Westcliff's third straight sweep and continued the team's late-season surge.

The pregame ceremony was a heartfelt one, with Carelock visibly emotional as her teammates and family members honored her and fellow seniors Ferreira and middle blocker Serena Comer.

Both Joliayns Roman and Stacy Folas spoke, highlighting the connection that's carried the Warriors through a season defined by growth and unity.

Afterward, junior libero Daniela Sandoval said that bond has been the team's secret weapon.

"I'm really, really happy with the way we played," Sandoval said. "It kind of looked like there was going to be a fourth set there, and I'm really glad that there wasn't. We came together as one and realized we can still come back. Whether it's PacU, Simpson, Cal Lutheran, whoever it is, we have it in us to fight."

She credited trust and communication as the foundation for Westcliff's turnaround.

"I think it really comes from the connections we've made on and off the court," Sandoval said. "It's more about playing for each other and for the name on our jersey. You can really feel that energy. It's made us whole again."

The Warriors will look to build on their momentum when they travel to Simpson on October 30 for an 8 p.m. first serve.

"I love my seniors," Sandoval said. "I'm so happy for them. Today was all about them, so I'm really grateful we were able to get that 3-0 win for them tonight."

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Dani Sandoval took the time to talk about all three seniors following the win Saturday night.

Amanda Ferreira

Amanda is our mom of the group, I would say. Without her, we probably wouldn't know where we go on serve-receive. Without her, we probably would have lost some points because she'll fight the ref when she knows we're in the right position. She'll fight for what's right, and she's fought for us this entire season. She's shown what a leader is, whether there's a captain title or not. She's been a captain. She's been a leader, and I'm really grateful to have been under her for this year and to learn from her. I'm just really excited to, I don't know, see what she does in her future endeavors.

Serena Comer

Honestly, this season Rena's been the one that that brings me back a lot. You know, she's always in my ears; she's telling me, "We can we bounce back, we bounce back fast," and she has me sing a song in the middle of when we're down three points. She's like, "Sing a song. Sing a song right now," and then she gets me back into the game, so without her, I feel like the negative energy could probably have taken over in a lot of situations, but she made sure that it didn't, and I'm really, really grateful for her and the way she plays. The passion, the drive that she has every day in practice and in games, you know, she has this such a silly personality but, in the end, she's a very serious person, she's very strong resilient and I'm really grateful to have been playing with this season.

Samantha Carelock

Oh, captain, my captain. So, without Sam – look, she embodies Westcliff volleyball, man. She brings it every single day, in practice, in games, whatever it is, she's the glue that keeps us together. That's Sam. She's our big one. She has shown me what a true captain is and it's really awesome to be able to play this season with her and to see what a leader truly is because she has really demonstrated that through and through every day in and out. And so I just really love her. I love these seniors so much, like this is going to be a crazy, crazy season without them next year. I'm really grateful for everything they've done and with Sam, I don't know, man, she's really Westcliff volleyball, I don't know what we're going to do without her – I hope she comes back as a GA!