Spring is upon us and with it comes a flurry of spring sports, one of which is boys volleyball.
Boys volleyball at WHS has only existed for six seasons. It is a young program that has continually made strides to improve. The Blue Devils have, though, struggled in the last couple years to gain serious momentum. Since 2017, boys volleyball has failed to earn a winning record. In each of those six seasons Westfield has also finished in the bottom half of the standings in the Union County Conference. The team now exhibits great potential.
Westfield is coming off one of its best seasons since its inaugural year at the high school. The team broke even, finishing the year with a 12-12 overall record and a 4-6 record in the Union County Conference. After starting the season with an early six-game losing streak, Westfield vastly improved, ending the year with nine wins in its last 13 games. The Blue Devils finished sixth out of eight teams in the UCC, one position higher than the previous year’s team. Though this was once again a year without a winning record, it was an immense improvement over previous seasons.
“There weren’t many of us [freshman year],” said co-captain Ben Greeley. “Watching the boys program grow so much since I was just joining it is very exciting because Westfield is full of talent and the program is only going to get bigger.”
Last year’s team held only three seniors and relied heavily on its junior class. The Blue Devils were led by Jason Billings with 93 kills, Nathan Welsh with 133 assists and then-senior Dante Morales with 21 blocks. Welsh also led the team in both service points, 78, and aces, 31.
“We’ve been working really hard these past seasons and I think this year will be our best yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we do in the long run,” said co-captain Brayden Abo.
This year’s team looks to make a major leap towards success. With more than 10 seniors on this year’s roster, the Blue Devils have experience as well as skill to guide them toward more victories. Included in this year’s returning senior class are Billings, who was first team All-Conference last season; Welsh; Abo, who was second in assists last season, 128, and third in service points, 49; and Micah Berger, who was an All-Conference honorable mention.
“I think our biggest strength is our chemistry. We’ve all played together through the high school team, but also through club teams so we all know each other very well, and that’s going to be displayed as one of our best attributes this year,” said Abo.
“Almost our entire starting lineup is seniors who have been playing together for years, and this year a lot of other teams are in a rebuilding phase. It’s a big opportunity for us to perform,” said Greeley.
It will be a difficult road ahead for the Blue Devils this year. Westfield faces tough competition throughout the conference including Summit, Union and Linden, all of which finished last season with seven losses or fewer. The most difficult team on this year’s schedule is undoubtedly Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The Raiders have dominated the Union County Conference, winning 24 consecutive conference games over the past two seasons. SPF was the No. 2 seed in last year’s state tournament and made it far before falling short in the state semifinals for only its second loss of the season.
Westfield’s first match of the season will take place against Union on April 3. In their past five matches, Union has bested Westfield every time, shutting out the Blue Devils in sets in every game. This time Westfield hopes to change the narrative that has built around the team over previous seasons and prove any doubters wrong. Needless to say, the ceiling is high for Westfield, as are hopes.
