SURPRISE, Ariz. – The celebration is on in Arizona, as for the first time in program history, the Warriors are champions of the Golden State Athletic Conference. In quite possibly their most dominating performance of the season, Jessup swept Westmont to claim championship gold.
 
It was the status quo answer for head coach Tiger Shelton after the match, the magnitude had yet to set in. "It hasn't set in yet, it's just kind of another game, you know? You come out here and you play the number one team in the conference, and you just are on fire. The team that was gonna win this was the team that came to play."
 
Jessup outscored Westmont 75-48 in Saturday's conference championship. The Warriors finished with nine more kills, seven more aces, and four more blocks than their counterparts from Santa Barbara.
 
The victory is just the second all-time for the Warriors against Westmont. Jessup is now on a winning streak in this matchup, as Jessup took down Westmont one week ago to clinch a first round bye in the conference tournament.
 
Marina Gonzalez led the Warriors with a match-high 13 kills. Madalyn Miller again was right behind her with a dozen of her own.
 
Westmont got off to a hot start, scoring the first four points of the match before a Gonzalez kill got Jessup on the board. That sparked a 7-0 run to put Jessup on top. The Warriors continued to dominate through-and-through, winning the opening set 25-16.
 
The domination continued into the second set, with Jessup opening up to a 9-4 lead.
 
Jessup's second set advantage continued to grow, reaching 21-7 on another Gonzalez kill. Westmont had no answer for the Warriors as Jessup took a 2-0 lead with a commanding 25-11 victory in the second set.
 
But as fans of these two schools know, no match is over after two sets.
 
Westmont made their last attempt at a comeback, pushing point-for-point with Jessup as the two sides sat deadlocked at 13. This is where Jessup planted their foot in the ground, scoring eight of the next 11 points to go ahead 21-16. Championship point was scored on a kill by Mata Iupeli, sending the Jessup bench onto the court in jubilation.
 
"Look, we were doing a lot of things right," said Shelton. "The whole team was doing a lot of good things right. We were digging, we were passing balls. Our setters were making great choices. But another thing is, when your day comes, it doesn't come all the time, but when it does come, there's nothing you can do about it."
 
With the conference championship comes an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, something the Warriors had locked down before the match began. Who the Warriors will play next, and where, remains to be determined.
 
The NAIA will reveal the 2022 bracket Monday morning at 8 a.m.
   
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).