After a season of ups and downs, Westfield was fired up going into the Union County Tournament quarter-final match against Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The team was aiming for nothing short of domination, winning 2-0 and taking both sets with commanding leads.
Westfield came out in the first set ready to play but so did SPF. Following a kill from junior Ava Gaspard Westfield found themselves in a 3-3 tie in the first set.
Following a time out Westfield was able to begin to pull away and found themselves leading 8-4. Senior captain Catie Carayannopoulos said, “We learned that they’re middle and one of their outsiders is really good at hitting.” Westfield however was able to adjust and find ways to slow down SPF’s outside hitter.
The Raiders however would not go down without a fight as they managed to fight back and tie the set at 9-9. Westfield clearly displayed a higher level of skill than the Raiders, with many of SPF’s points coming from Blue Devil errors and miscommunications. However, no matter the result of the point, Westfield kept their heads up and their morale high. “At the beginning of the season we let our errors dig us into a hole,” Carayannopoulos said. “The game of volleyball is all about the next play.”
After getting warm and adapting to the Raiders’ play style, the Blue Devils were able to pull away, winning the first set 25-15. Yet, Westfield was well aware that the game’s fate was far from sealed.
Entering the second set, the Raiders were not phased by the first set’s result. The Blue Devils were not taken by surprise, they kept composure and quickly began to build their lead. After numerous impressive kills by Gaspard, the Raiders were forced to call a timeout with the Blue Devils leading 11-5.
Gaspard said, “We had a really good warmup today, and after yesterday’s practice coach made it clear that we really had to try hard today.” Head coach Beverly Torok, being a coach with over 500 career wins, made sure the team did not take this game lightly.
Torok said, “We are really concentrating on communication, serving towards the seams, swinging tough shots, and our timing on blocks.” The Blue Devils were able to do just that continuing through the second set.
Between smart team offense and strong defensive communication, Westfield took the lead and never looked back. Besides a couple of inevitable mistakes, the Blue Devils crushed the Raiders taking the second set 25-17.
Westfield will face Governor Livingston in the semifinal round on Tuesday, a team that they have lost 2-0, and won 2-0 against this season.
The Highlanders have been a formidable opponent for the Blue Devils for many years now. In preparation, Torok said, “We know they are outside-hitter dominant, so we’re going to concentrate on making sure we’re there, blocking and reading, so we know where she’s going.” She added, “We’re just going to have to make adjustments off of what they do.”
