The ceiling shifted slightly. Arms shot toward it in celebration.
The ball had bumped a ceiling tile, rocketing off a Ridge player’s arms during an attempted return and budging the tile. The tile immediately settled back into place, but the damage, from a volleyball standpoint, was irreparable. Westfield point. Match point saved.
Minutes later, though, two Blue Devils bumped harmlessly into each other as the ball dropped between them, signaling the conclusion of a compelling match. No. 10 Ridge (8-1, 6-0 Skyland) escaped Westfield (8-1, 4-0 UCC Mountain), 25–23, 27–25, terminating the Blue Devils’ historic unbeaten run.
“With a loss, especially when we were undefeated, comes a little bit of disappointment,” Brayden Abo said. “But I think everybody’s proud of how we played. We really stepped up to our competition.”
Ridge, with its array of powerful hitters and slick defenders, posed a unique challenge for Westfield. The Blue Devils reside in the weaker division of the Union County Conference—the UCC divided into two divisions this season—and thus far have subsisted on a diet of middling opponents. The conference’s powerhouses, Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Summit, lurk further down the road.
That, though, is not to diminish a remarkable run that yanked eyes at WHS to the team’s exploits.
Westfield threatened, on Friday, to write another triumphant chapter in this season’s story. The Blue Devils controlled the second set from the outset. The lead billowed and bent, but never broke. Not until the end.
“We just started to fall apart,” Abo said. “I think you get comfortable with the lead.”
Westfield served for the set at 24–23, the match appearing destined for a deciding third set. But the serve cracked the tape and fell onto the Westfield side. Ridge claimed the next point, Westfield rescued the ensuing match point—the point where the ball bumped the ceiling—and then the Red Devils claimed victory off two Westfield errors.
“We made some uncharacteristic errors that we gotta clean up,” said head coach Ed Saggio. But, he added of Ridge, “They’re a very good team, as you can see. They got some hitters. They play really good defense.”
All that Ridge prowess commanded attention in the first set, which the Red Devils controlled for long stretches. At one point, Ridge ripped off 3 points in a row. This precipitated a Westfield timeout. The teams resumed the floor. Ridge ripped off another 4 points.
That 7-0 run augured an easy first set, but Westfield remained steadfast. The Blue Devils charged back, all the way back, knotting the set at 23–23.
“We can play,” Saggio said. “And we don’t quit.”
But Ridge grabbed two quick points to capture the set.
Paul Sherman starred for the Red Devils, collecting all 24 Ridge assists. His most prominent target was Akash Macha, who tallied 8 kills. For Westfield, Ben Greeley had 6 digs, Abo and Nathan Welsh each made 11 assists and Jason Billings racked up 11 kills.
The mistakes, though, will haunt Westfield. The Blue Devils will attempt to correct them on Saturday during a tournament in West Orange. But a respected volleyball power rolled into WHS on Friday and, in both sets, barely escaped.
That close.
“We’ll keep cleaning up those mistakes,” Billings said. “Pick up that defense. We start picking up more balls and cleaning up those errors and, eventually, you know, it’ll come.”
A statement victory dangled within reach for an hour or so Friday, only to dance away. Westfield plans to grab it next time.
Written by Michael Liebermann
Live tweeting by Alyssa Martinez
