As Westfield geared up to play Union City in the first round of state sectionals, they looked to dominate the entire first set. Although the first couple plays didn’t go as expected, the Blue Devils were able to persevere and win the first set in a close score, gaining more momentum to win the game in the second set with more success.
The first play of the game was not in favor of Westfield. As Union City gained a lead, the Blue Devils struggled with their offensive and defensive power. Eventually, Westfield gained more confidence and the first set consisted of a back and forth game.
Junior Veer Agarwal was a vital player for the Blue Devils on the court. He managed to control the majority of each play and was the key to increasing the lead . Eventually, Westfield was able to capitalize on bad plays from Union City, and get their first big lead of the game 19-15. Their comeback was monumental as they were able to come back from a poor first start and prove their dominance once and for all. With Union City tightening the score, Westfield was able to stay calm and control the game. Despite the score now being 24-22 Westfield, Westfield was able to win the first set 25-22, with only one more set to go.
“We played really well compared to a rough game yesterday and I think if we play like how we played today we will go far in states. We just have to improve our services,” explained Agarwal.
As the second set started, Westfield captured the first point, unlike how they started the game. They managed to go up 3-0 but Union City held their own as they managed to tie up the game 6-6. The Blue Devils failed to control the hits from over the net. For the next 10 minutes, it felt like the first set all over again as the score remained tied, or with one team going up by only one point with the losing team quickly responding.
Eventually, Westfield repeats the past again, gaining another lead with a score of 14-10. Following this lead, they only increased their lead as momentum was building play by play. One of these plays consisted of a big block from senior captain Logan Shepard, who won the Blue Devils the game with a score of 25-20.
“I think we didn’t play to the best of our abilities yesterday and that was a big wakeup call for this game. Offensively, we did really good today and did a good job spreading out. We diversified the sets and I think defensively we are on top of our game. We had a lot more blocks than most other games,” explained Shepard.
With the second round of state sectionals coming up, Westfield knows what they have to do to achieve another victory.
“All season long we’ve preached to them that we have got to win the first to 10 so when we won the first set, we just reminded them that from there we take it to 20 and after that it’s just a battle for the last 5 points. We have to play together and have energy. We had a bunch of stump blocks today and that’s a lot for us and we will take it to the next round,” explained assistant coach Dave Tarullo.
Westfield will continue the sectional tournament next Wednesday, playing away against Livingston in the quarterfinal round. The game time is currently undecided.
