It was 5:15 p.m., and the match was supposed to start at 4. A delayed start would have impacted your average volleyball team, but not Westfield. Coach Ed Saggio admittedly called the delayed start “tough” but advised his team to “focus and not wear themselves out.” And focus they did. No. 7 seed Westfield went on to roll No. 10 East Orange in the first round of the North, Group 4 sectional tournament.
East Orange entered Thursday’s matchup 2-15, while Westfield boasted an impressive 18-7 record. That record disparity was evident in the first set, with Westfield jumping out to a 10-4 lead. The Jaguars answered, clawing back to cut the Blue Devil lead to 13-9. The Jaguar comeback attempt proved frivolous.
Bang! The sound of an East Orange player falling to the ground after attempting to return captain Jason Billings’s kill. East Orange, needing to re-gather itself, called a timeout at 17-10. However, it didn’t stop the bleeding. The Blue Devils’ kill leader at 196, Billings helped cruise the Blue Devils to a first-set victory, 25-22.
The second set could only be described in one word: dominance. The Blue Devils took a large lead early and never looked back. The team made no mistakes, capitalizing on nearly every single play to take a 10-3 lead. Seeing the gap lengthening, the Jaguars called their first timeout of the set, but that didn’t do much. The Blue Devils just never took their foot off the gas.
“I do all my talking in practice, today was all just consistency,” said Saggio on his team’s commanding second set.
Billings continued to make dominant kills off assists from co-captain Brayden Abo. Nathan Welsh also played a big role behind the service line, helping surge the Blue Devils to a 19-4 lead in the second set. Westfield went on to take the second set, 25-7, in commanding fashion.
Westfield will look to take its powerful attack into the next round of the sectional tournament at No. 2 seed Passaic Tech on Wednesday. The Bulldogs hold a 23-2 record on the year and are currently riding a four-game win streak. As for this week in practice, Saggio said, “We have to work on our defense and serving to the corners.” He added that “keeping the ball away from the libero” will be crucial in advancing past the Bulldogs next week.
