After losing the first set to Montclair, the Blue Devils battled back to win three consecutive sets, securing a victory in the first round of the state tournament. Fresh off a county title, Westfield entered the best-of-five match expecting a tough battle.
“We were coming off a county final win, so we were pretty excited to get sectionals started,” senior co-captian Lillian Wood said. “We had played this team before, and it was really close and we also lost a set, so we were prepared to be challenged.”
The Blue Devils struggled to find their rhythm in the opening set, falling behind and losing 25-21 to make it 1-0. Facing the early setback, the squad focused on staying calm on the court.
“When we were losing the first set, I think it’s hard to not get panicked,” Wood said. “So we would cheer each other up and make sure that we came into the next two sets stronger.”
Head coach Beverly Torok said, “We started out a little flat in the first set, and they are a very athletic team. We knew that, but they were an athletic team, and they showed it. We had to regain our balance, passing and swinging, and blocking, and once we got better at that, we were able to have longer rallies, and win a lot of those rallies.”
Westfield came out stronger in the second set, improving their execution on the court. The Blue Devils worked to gain momentum during the second set, and won 25-12, tying the game at 1-1.
“The first set was a little bit of a struggle, but in the second set toward the middle, we realized we actually have to fight and that we can and should be beating this team, which is when we started to pick it up,” senior co-captain Annelise Bonn said.
Westfield carried their momentum into the third set with a strong performance at the net, leading to a cluster of kills and aces to help the Blue Devils gain control of the match. The third set showcased the close battle between the two teams, with Westfield winning 25-22.
“I thought they had a lot of heart today,” Torok said. “They didn’t bail out. They fought the whole time, and really made some things happen. We ran a lot of different plays, so it wasn’t just one player dominating, It was our whole attack.”
The Blue Devils carried this dominating energy into the fourth set, executing cleanly to seal a decisive 25-9 set win. The set closed out the 3-1 match victory and advanced Westfield to the next round of sectionals.
The team looks to carry this momentum to Thursday in their quarterfinal game, where they will host Fair Lawn.
