Ben Bukiet-Beker jumped into the sky, ball overhead as he wound up for a kill. Thud. The play resulted in “he’s a freshman” chants from the crowd, while pushing Westfield’s lead to 6-4 in the second set.
This lead would not last long, as the Scotch Plains-Fanwood offense overpowered the Blue Devils throughout the second set. After SPF’s Tim Ennis took his spot behind the service line, the Blue Devils’ backs went against the wall. Ennis served back-to-back aces with the Blue Devils frantically attempting to recover from his powerful serve. As SPF jumped out in front, 14-10, Westfield called its first timeout of the set, seeing the set slowly slip away.
With only one loss on the season, the Raiders are ranked No. 2 in New Jersey. With an incredible team, they have managed 17 wins and have a perfect record in the Union County Conference. The Blue Devils have three losses and were unbeaten in the UCC prior to Wednesday’s match against SPF.
Coming out of the timeout, Ennis’s serve failed to cross the net, thus handing possession back to the Blue Devils. Miscommunication would soon come from Westfield as its defense was unable to get the ball back over the net, giving the ball back to the Raiders with a score of 16-11. From there the Raiders didn’t look back, scooping up 5 points in a row and drawing within range of their ninth consecutive win in two sets. Raiders senior captain Nick Schmidt made acrobatic plays to keep the ball in the air and move it up to the outside hitters. SPF’s kills were too powerful for the Blue Devils, a clear sign of the game getting out of hand.
With all hope lost, senior Serhat Erparlak was a bright spot for Westfield. Erparlak found a way to stifle the Raiders’ dominant offense with a pair of blocks, to put the score at 23-13. “We don’t quit,” head coach Ed Saggio said. He added, “[blocking] definitely got better throughout the game.” However, it was too little too late, and Westfield and SPF traded points, leaving the final set of the day at a score of 25-15.
The first set was not much different from the second. Westfield looked even with the Raiders to begin the game as they traded points up to a score of 6-4. Slowly things began to unravel for the Blue Devils. “We had to get some blocks,” explained Saggio. A key reason for the struggle was the absence of senior captain Jason Billings due to illness. Saggio referred to Billings as one of the best players on the team, and his position at outside hitter would have helped offset the Raider’s aggressive front.
Westfield will travel to Woodbridge on Thursday. Saggio explained, “We have to be mentally tough, forget this one, and move on to Woodbridge.”
