Looking to keep their sectional tournament momentum going, the Westfield Blue Devils matched up against 12th-seeded Phillipsburg at home, with a trip to the sectional final on the line.
Despite a lower-seeded opponent in what should seemingly be an easy win, head coach Beverly Torok made sure her team was ready for this matchup. “I never take any team for granted because I know upsets do happen. So we prepare the same whether they are a top or bottom seed,” Torok said.
Phillipsburg came out hot, maintaining a close score and even finding themselves with a 5-6 lead in the first set. However, momentum quickly shifted as a serving streak from senior Catie Carayannopoulos propelled the Blue Devils to an 11-6 lead. “We’ve been concentrating on serving,” Torok said. “We had a couple of runs, which was important to help make a break.”
The Blue Devils were able to maintain their high energy and dominating force for the rest of the game giving them the victory in only two sets. Carayannopoulos said, “Our connection, just our talking and our energy overall helped us command the entire game.”
The second set was no different. “We really played as a team today and just encouraged each other to be the best,” said junior Ava Gaspard. Kills from Gaspard, Carayannopoulos, and senior Sabrina Muller had Westfield finding themselves up as much as 15 points, stunning the Stateliners.
Gaspard, Carayannopoulos, and Torok all agreed that serving was something crucial that the team needs to work on going into the section final. Gaspard explained that serving is the most important part of volleyball as it is a key factor in who can score and control the game. Carayannopoulos said, “I think we had way too many missed serves today, so that’s a huge thing we need to work on going forward.”
On a positive note, the Blue Devils defense played impeccably today. They were reading and finding the ball effortlessly. On returns, they also were getting their passes to the side rather than in front looking like a real professional team.
The Blue Devils will play the No. 2 seed, Union City, this Tuesday at home as they hope to capture the sectional final title and continue their winning streak in this tournament. In preparation for this game, Carayannopoulos said, “We’re going to scout them, and also hopefully take what we did today into that game.”
