The Westfield boys volleyball team opened their state tournament run in a dominant fashion, defeating the Ridge Red Devils 3-0, in straight sets, to advance to the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Group 3 Tournament.
The Blue Devils started off the first set strong, with junior Jeremiah Brooks getting a kill and earning Westfield their first point of the game. As the set continued, the score fluctuated back and forth as both teams were battling for momentum. Senior Brock Borlenghi won the set for the Blue Devils, 25-19, getting his first kill of the game.
Heading into the match, the team focused strongly on staying composed and trusting their system. Senior tri-captain Ethan Cha said, “Our coach was telling us a lot to just be ourselves, play our game and focus on what we’re doing.”
The strategy mentioned by Cha — staying composed and trusting their system — was greatly executed, as the team ultimately maintained a lead over the Red Devils for a larger duration during all three sets. However, senior tri-captain Ben Bukiet-Beker explained the struggles they had in the first set, saying, “our serving was rough, as well as blocking. Our passing was diminished compared to other games, as well.”
Head coach Ed Saggio put it plainly: their mindset was to win. In addition to that, he explained how it was necessary to “play fast” and keep up with the momentum the game held.
Cha agreed, highlighting the need to establish control and create opportunities. He said, “We definitely had a lot of momentum that we were able to build up throughout and kept the energy up.”
Even with some hardships, the Blue Devils continued to prove their dominance early in the state tournament behind 13 kills from Bukiet-Beker and 9 kills from Cha, alongside 4 blocks from Brooks.
The Blue Devils will take on the sixth-seeded St. Peter’s Prep at WHS on Friday, looking to continue their winning streak and advance in the state tournament. Looking forward, Saggio said, “We are going to look at the film. We don’t do much scouting; what we do, we just do it.”
“We’re going to practice hard and work on all the mistakes that we made today, also to make sure that we don’t make them again,” Cha said, looking into the future toward their one-day break between matches. “We will try to improve everything as much as possible within the next day.”
