Eyes darted from side to side, watching the volleyball sail back and forth over the net. The crowd gasped and coaches cheered as both teams made spectacular plays to keep the ball from touching the ground. The point appeared like it would never end. Westfield had different plans: they were going to end it.
Senior Giuliana Gallo raised the ball high into the air, giving Abby Pevzner a chance at a kill. Pevzner reeled back and delivered, hitting the ball into the stretched arms of Kent Place’s blockers. The ball flew out of bounds and Westfield won the point, tying the set at 13. Pevzner’s kill swung the momentum for the Blue Devils and led them to their 2-1 victory over Kent Place.
To start the first set, Kent Place jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, shocking the heavily favored Blue Devils. Westfield responded with two more points of their own, but Kent Place quickly retaliated, scoring four more points and forcing coach Beverly Torok to call her first timeout with the score at 8-2.
“Looking back, they served very well and caught us a little flat-footed. The game plan was to pass, set and hit and we didn’t pass well. They played a strong first set and gave us a lot of trouble getting out of there,” said Torok.
Kent Place continued to dominate throughout the first set, making minimal mistakes and putting constant pressure on Westfield. Whenever Westfield seemed to gain some momentum, the Dragons shut them down, refusing to budge. Also during the first set, one of Kent Place’s best players, Margeaux Morial, achieved 1000 assists, further establishing the Dragons’ early dominance. Kent Place went on to win the first set 25-18.
Westfield’s struggles continued early in the second set, gifting Kent Place points off of sloppy spikes and bumps. However, Westfield refused to give up, tying the game at 13 after an 8-5 deficit. Once the Blue Devils tied it, there was no looking back. They went on a five-point serving run led by Gallo’s strong serves and relentless team effort to keep the lead.
“In the second set, I think we just had a lot more energy,” captain Caitlin Cabrales said, regarding Westfield’s comeback.
Westfield’s fierce resistance led to a Kent Place timeout, sparking fire into the hearts of the Blue Devils. Leading 20-18, they knew they needed to add to their lead in the third set. Karolina Bonn and Cabrales both delivered for Westfield, adding two important kills to stretch the lead to 22-18 and stomp out the hope in Kent Place. The Blue Devils’ key changes allowed them to take the second set with a score of 25-21.
“We did a much better job of talking to each other through it and we were doing a good job of shutting them down and making it hard for them to hit,” said Bonn.
The third set can be summed up in a word that would also fit nicely to describe the Blue Devils’ 2022-23 season: dominance. Westfield stayed aggressive early, seemingly set on making up for their slow start. Pevzner and Cabrales headed a balanced Westfield attack which landed them a 12-3 lead.
Kent Place refused to give up, as they attempted a heroic comeback to try and hold back any Westfield momentum, slowly chipping away at the lead, reaching a score of 23-17 after a Westfield kill attempt was blocked. A strong Olivia Calandra kill put the set, and the match, away with a final score of 25-18, two sets to one.
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Thursday at Scotch-Plains Fanwood at 4:00 p.m.
