“Play the game.”
Coach Beverley Torok started her huddle with these three words, three small words that were worth a thousand more.
The score was 15-7, Westfield down in the second set. Torok called the team in for a timeout. All the players came together in a circle, similar to the one they created at the beginning of the match. All together, one team, unified. Torok said something, she said something to make them go on to make the score 22-17 with Union Catholic in the lead, something to make it a fight.
It worked, for a little bit. But, inevitably, UC came in with a well-rehearsed block on Westfield’s kill, putting an end to the momentum of the Blue Devils. Once UC had the ball in the final two plays, there was no containing them.
The game ended 25-20, the Vikings killing Westfield’s undefeated streak starting from the first game in their 2022-23 season. “I just don’t think we could get a good start in each set,” said senior Grace Kim. “We couldn’t keep it consistent throughout. I think there are a lot of highs and lows where they would get up a lot of points and then we would catch up to them, but then we can never maintain that momentum and then we would just fall back down.”
The game started off exactly how Kim described it: the Blue Devils down 5-0. UC was hungry for a win. After winning this game for the past three years, Westfield was caught already down in this intense matchup. But, they came back. A back-and-forth battle. Block, dig. Block, dig. It came down to the kills.
“We needed to focus on passing because our passes weren’t allowing our setters to give us our offensive attack, what we wanted to do for our offensive attack,” Torok said, trying to advise her players to get out of this deep hole they had dug.
23-21, and a controversial line call later, the score was taken to 24-21, UC. UC made an unreturnable block, taking the first set victory.
“I think we kind of let them get to us a little bit, and I think that was kind of what got us down,” said senior Caitlin Cabrales, post match. It’s hard to blame her for this statement. At UC’s home court with their student section chanting “scoreboard” and “we can’t hear you,” even fans found the echoing noise of the court to be loud.
Coming off an electric JV match that resulted in a 27-25 UC win in the third set, UC graciously carried the fans and players momentum with them into warmups and the match itself. Westfield, however, had to fight for their team in a gym that didn’t quite feel like home .
Going into the second set, UC took the early lead once again, but Westfield refused to give in. With remarkable diving digs from Cabrales and senior Chloe Weidman, kills from senior Abby Pevzner set up well by senior Olivia Calandra, Westfield was without a doubt fighting to keep up.
But their efforts weren’t enough. As the score reached 22-17 UC, the Blue Devils tried to come back from the 5-point gap. However, with a net violation and a missed dig, Westfield took their first loss in two years.
“I think we had to adjust earlier in the second set. We let them go on a little run and then we just had to keep climbing back and honestly, after losing the first set, we had to start out stronger,” said Cabrales.
“We’ve played them before we knew what they were. They have quality hitters. They have quality serving and defense and pretty good blocking,” said Torok, “We had to find their holes. We did that sometimes.”
In volleyball, games are unpredictable, no points gained is like the last. Out of nowhere, a dig from senior Giuliana Gallo or Cabrales can set up a hot streak, or a block from UC could switch the momentum.
The Blue devils did in fact, ‘play the game,’ but unfortunately, they did not win.
They will go on to face Elizabeth at home at 4 p.m. on Thursday, hoping this one slip will not be a factor in the rest of their matches.
