Hillside had just scored, capping a comeback run that saw them erase a 5-point deficit to meet Westfield’s point total once more. There had been a steady tie up until 19-19, when the Blue Devils finally pulled ahead until they were one point away from taking the entire match, having already won the first set 25-20.
The score was tied at 24, Westfield and Hillside squared away as the second set came to a close. Hillside served, starting a long rally that would only end when junior Veer Agarwal met a set by senior captain Sebastian Lorenzo high in the air above the net, sending it careening towards a Hillside defender, who deflected it far out of bounds. While usually 25 points equaled a victory for the set, the win-by-two rule meant that Westfield had to reach 26, given they could hold Hillside to 24. Agarwal, fresh off the last kill, was to serve for Westfield. Tossing the ball above his head, he ran up and jumped to meet it in the air. The ball whirled past the net, down a foot in front of the defender, who dove to meet the ball but was unable to pass it successfully. This clutch ace from Agarwal sealed the set and match for Westfield, putting an end to the very close game.
The highlight and lowlight of the day was Westfield’s service. Senior Chris Gonzalez said, “A lot of the points they’re going to get come from your own mistakes. So the most important thing with serving isn’t the team, but the individual. You can’t overthink, that’s how you make mistakes. You know, I pride myself on my serves, I practice them a lot, and I had some aces in the second set that helped the team and really propelled us to the win.” Gonzalez’s aces were what helped Westfield overcome the 19-19 tie in the second set and pull ahead by 5 points.
The last match Westfield had was against Summit, and after that game head coach Ed Saggio mentioned that one of their keys to success against formidable opponents was to “Keep on serving tough.” Westfield faltered with this early on in this match, but truly picked it up towards the end, consistently serving to Hillside’s weaknesses and allowing their offense to start the rally on a better foot.
Sitting at 9-5, Westfield looks to continue their recent success against Linden at 4:00 p.m. at home on Monday.
