Westlake girls' volleyball squad makes short work of Simi Valley

Kelsey Kaehler It was a dominating perfor- mance from the opening whistle to the final horn.

On Tuesday night at Westlake High, the Warrior girls' volleyball team swept Simi Valley in three games 25- 12, 25-18 and 25-14.

"We played them in the summer once and they got off to a quick start and caused us trouble. We had to play come- back," WHS head coach Ernest Rittenhouse said. "I told them today, 'None of that. Come out and start strong.' And they did."

Following their coach's or- ders to perfection, the Warriors jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first game behind the powerful serve of senior outside hitter Traci Salmonson.

"It's a rush. You get really, really into it and you want to keep doing it over and over again," said Salmonson, who finished the match with two aces, two blocks, four digs and six kills.

Simi Valley never led in the opening game as Westlake con- trolled the net with its height ad- vantage. At any given moment during the match, the Warriors could field six players who are at least 5-foot-10, including four which stand 6-foot or taller.

"We're a pretty solid team on a good night," Salmonson said. "Even when it's not a good night, we can still play pretty well."

The Warriors continued to control Simi Valley in the sec- ond game.

Only three times during the penultimate game did the Pioneers get within striking distance of Westlake-at 5-4, 10-9 and 11-10.

With the Warriors up a point at 11-10 and Simi Valley threat- ening to tie WHS for the first time, Westlake went on an 8-2 run to make the score 19-12. It wasn't long before WHS put the Pioneers away again on a kill from Salmonson.

"Sometimes, if you get off to a strong start and they have trouble stopping you, you can get on a roll," Rittenhouse said. "When that happens, it can be very hard for a team to knock us off a little."

At the onset of the third game, Simi Valley finally got its first lead of the match when Pioneer setter Andrea Chang's serve found a soft spot in the Warrior defense.

In the most highly-competitive game of the night, both teams battled back and forth to an 8-8 tie. At that point, however, the Warriors quickly took over and utilized a 17-6 run to close out the match, with WHS sopho- more Michelle Ketter pounding home the deciding kill.

Westlake senior setter Kelsey Kaehler finished the night with 36 assists, two blocks and three digs.

Outside hitter Alex Johnson had 12 digs and 15 kills. Libero Cathy Quilico added 30 digs.

Middle blocker Shelynne Hoyt contributed seven digs and six kills, while outside hit- ter Mimi Sander logged 11 digs and a pair of aces.

The victory helped Westlake improve its overall record to 7- 0. They are 3-0 in the Marmonte League. WHS hasn't lost a game since Sept. 12 against Oak Park.

Simi Valley's record now stands at 1-4 and 1-2 in league.

Kaehler said she was im- pressed with the Warriors' per- formance against Simi Valley, adding that it was a good tune- up for tonight's match against a talented Moorpark squad that'll enter the Westlake gym sporting a 9-1 overall mark and 3-0 record in the Marmonte League.

"It should be a good game," Kaehler said. "(Moorpark) is a good team, and with Chelsea Daley, they are strong on the outside. But we have a little bit more lead- ership on our team, more se- niors and more experience. I think that's going to be to our advantage."

Tonight's match tips off at 6 p.m. in Westlake.