After a 2-0 start to their season, the Blue Devils had confidence coming into their next game, facing Edison who had also been undefeated coming into the match. Westfield battled hard but ultimately fell short losing in two sets.
Edison came out hot in the first set, getting out to a 14-10 lead and never looking back. They never gave up their lead, and led the rest of the way to comfortably close out the set, 25-17.
Coming off of a rough first set, the Blue Devils knew there were many components that needed to improve if they were to look to come back in the next set. Senior tri-captain Ethan Cha said, “After the first set, we worked a lot more on our teamwork and cohesiveness. Not getting so down when we lose a point or when we’re not winning was important.”
Westfield went into this match knowing that two of their three captains were out due to injury. Senior tri-captain Ben Bukiet-Beker is out with a sprained ankle but will look to return soon, while fellow tri-captain Matthew Bonn is out for the season due to a back injury earlier in the year. Despite this, Cha said, “I think we could have won. We could have stepped up to the occasion.”
The second set was closer in score but still had the same result, ending 25-22. Head coach Edward Saggio credited the second set’s closer result to his players’ performances, saying they improved on their “passing, attacking and trying to terminate. I definitely think we did that a little better than the first set.”
Junior setter Gunner Gaspard agreed with Saggio, saying in the first set, “We had two Liberos on the court, and we needed to focus on better serve receive.”
WIth two main front row players out, the blocking during this game was an area that needed improvement. Saggio said, “Moving forward, we really need to work on our blocking. We’re tall and we need to use it.”
Cha agreed, saying, “We’re hoping to improve our blocking, definitely. And our defense, because we really struggled in those areas.”
The Blue Devils will look to bounce back and improve their play against Union at home on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
