As the Blue Devils walked out onto their home court to play against Roselle, one could hear a pin drop. There was a major lack of energy, and this was represented after a close first set. Junior quad-captain Ethan Cha said, “It was really quiet on the court today. Nobody was calling for the ball or going after anything.” Westfield then found their footing and won both the game and the second set, 25-9.
Despite the final result, the lack of communication needs to change in order for the Blue Devils to go far in the playoffs. Senior quad-captain Kueijiro Tanaka said, “I think [the team] needs to talk more, the blockers and the back row need to try to communicate and to get the blocks up so it’s easier for the back row to get the ball up.”
The Blue Devils serve-receive stood out as a pivotal aspect of their game. Westfield tallied 12 aces and allowed zero by Roselle. Tanaka agreed as he said, “I think our serving worked well, especially in the second set.” Junior Ben Bukiet-Beker recorded seven of these 12 aces.
Cha said, “I think our passing was pretty good outside of the communication, but we did good, scrambling and getting the balls up.” Cha helped the Blue Devils with 11 kills and six service points.
The Blue Devils might have lacked more important parts like communication, but other aspects came together leading to their success. Head coach William Leonard said, “It was the attention to detail, we worked pretty hard at making sure we knew our job at the moment.” The second set was when it all came together according to Leonard, he said, “Everything started to fire and clock correctly in the second set.”
The Blue Devils are back in action tomorrow, playing against Ridge at home. This matchup is going to be a make-or-break game for Westfield, seeing as they have lost to the Red Devils for two consecutive years. Leonard said, “Doing the little things 100 percent of the time and holding ourselves to a really high standard of volleyball is the most important thing if you want to go deep in the state tournament.”
The Blue Devils need to use these wins as motivation, remembering the positive aspects of their play. Cha said, “We are going to try to keep the momentum going for as long as we can, keeping our practices efficient and riding off the energy, not letting it die out.”
