The game was already in hand. Up 16-8, Westfield could taste victory. The early-game tensions were gone. Poised and ready to put the second set away, the Blue Devils prepared for the serve. It went up. A few exchanges, and an opportunity presented itself to senior Olivia Calandra. A perfect set. She leapt into the air and swung. The ball ricocheted off of a Union City defender and hit the floor. 17-8, Westfield. It would give them the momentum they needed to close out the second set and win, 25-10.
The two-set sweep against Union City pushed the Blue Devils into the North 2, Group 4 Sectional Tournament semifinals.
Although Westfield dominated the majority of the match, they did not start nearly as strong. Going down 4-0 early in the first set, Westfield needed to clean up their sloppy play. After encouragement from coach Beverly Torok from the sideline, Westfield finally made some adjustments. The Blue Devils were able to tie the set, 5-5, before finally taking the lead from the inferior Soaring Eagles.
“We were slow to start. And that is something that we just talked about, how we can’t be slow to start. The better teams that we get to aren’t going to allow us to have a deficit that big and make a comeback,” said Torok. “So we talked about having focus in practice and then bringing that focus into the game, right from the start, not five points [in].”
Westfield played as a cohesive unit yesterday, and they recognized their success. “Our serve receiving was really great today, so we were able to connect and make some really great plays. I think the key to that was communication, and I think we did a really great job with that today,” said Calandra.
Later in the set, senior Karolina Bonn had a pair of key blocks and kills to extend the Blue Devils lead to six, leading to a timeout from Union City. Westfield never looked back from their six-point lead, winning the first set, 25-11.
“We served really well today and not only did we keep it in, but we picked good spots and made them think about who was taking it. We also serve-received well and played under control,” said co-captain Caitlin Cabrales regarding Westfield’s strong play throughout the match.
The Blue Devils started the second set just like the first. A Cabrales kill brought them to a tie with Union City at 5-5. After this, they started to pull away. A kill from senior Abby Pevzner brought the score to 9-6, Westfield leading. An ace from senior Chloe Wiedman brought it to 13-6. The game was never close again. Junior Sabrina Muller closed the second set out with a kill, beating Union City, 25-10.
Torok noted that the team will only play tougher matchups as the tournament goes on, and they have to prepare for those with any information they can gather: “We watch [film]. If there’s anybody that we know, that’s on the [other] team – a lot of the girls play club together – then they know what their tendencies are… It’s an adjustment on the court. Every point, every ball, is an adjustment on the court.”
The Blue Devils will go on to play in the sectional tournament semifinals against Linden on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Westfield High School.
