The score was 24-16 in the third set. The Blue Devils had taken the first, and Elizabeth had come from behind to win the second. One point remained before the victory for Westfield. A set from sophomore Gunner Gaspard connected with senior tri-captain Ethan Cha, who executed the kill. The crowd erupted. The bench was ecstatic. The Blue Devils had just come out victorious, making their mark on program history.
Going into the match, the boys were driven by the momentum from their win against Union in the semifinals. Senior tri-captain Ben Bukiet-Beker said, “We carried the momentum from our two Elizabeth wins and from our win against Union, who we beat right before. Momentum was huge.” This electric energy helped the Blue Devils remain focused, especially going into a third set after narrowly losing the second set by just two points.
Westfield put in the work before the match in order to ensure their victory. Cha said, “We worked really hard in practice. We worked on every single problem we could have had and just focused on fixing it to the best of our ability.” Clearly, their practice paid off. With impressive individual performances from key players, including kills from Cha, Bukiet-Beker and an outstanding setting performance by Gaspard who finished the match with 34 assists and executed a number of successful setter dumps.
Besides the offensive success, the Blue Devils’ blocking led by senior tri-captain Matthew Bonn also played a role in the win. “I thought our blocking was on point. Historically, in the season, I wouldn’t say we’re a great blocking team. This game, we had a lot of blocks, so that definitely helped us shut down their hitters and break them down mentally,” Bukiet-Beker said.
The Blue Devils came into the game with a clear strategy. Earlier this season, Westfield faced the Minutemen twice and won both games. With a plan in place and followed by the players, the boys were able to succeed. “We put two blockers on their really good hitter immediately, and we soloed it over here. Then we serve the big kid because he likes it in the back-row attack. So, when you serve him, he can’t back row attack. We kind of neutralized him, which we had to do, because he’s a phenomenal player,” said head coach Ed Saggio.
As for the team making program history, both players and the coach agree that this achievement has been a long time coming, especially for the seniors. “It means everything. We’ve been working for so long for this. I mean, first time in program history. We’ve been getting to the finals for the last four years and every time we fall short. I can’t even describe the feeling of just not falling short this one year and actually being able to win,” said Cha.
The boys will carry the momentum from this historic victory to their game away against Morristown at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and continue the energy as they make their way to the state tournament.
