Westfield dominated the first set against Linden on Thursday, winning 25–14. The Blue Devils dismantled the Tigers with their serves. Senior Brayden Abo had several aces in the set.
This dominance did not carry over to the second set for the Blue Devils. Linden got off to a hot start in the second set, and Westfield found itself in a hole. After several lead changes, it seemed like Westfield was finally going to pull away as it led 16–13. However, the Tigers marched right back and tied the game at 22–22. The Tiger kills overpowered the Blue Devils and led to a second-set victory for Linden.
Linden had gained all momentum and took over the third set. The Blue Devils would have to battle as they went down early, trailing 8–1. Linden, a 2-10 team, was on the verge of pulling off a huge upset.
However, the Blue Devils were not going to let the Tigers ruin their perfect season.
During the Blue Devils’ comeback, Jason Billings had key kills to bring the team back in the game. The Blue Devils continued to chop at the lead, and forced Linden to call a timeout after cutting the lead to just 4 points. The crowd erupted. It was clear Westfield had regained the momentum.
After the timeout, Westfield got a few kills and aces that allowed it to regain the lead. The Blue Devils were now up, 14–13, and showed no signs of slowing down.
The Blue Devils were attempting to put Linden away, but the Tigers refused to go down without a fight. With a score of 20–19, Ben Greeley took control of the game. Any attack Linden attempted was immediately shot down. Greeley’s kills were lethal. This allowed Westfield to pull away and win the third set, 25–20.
Billings led the team with 9 kills, Ben Bukiet-Beker had 8, Greeley had 6, and Nathan Welsh totaled 16 service points.
Bukiet-Beker believes that “the shift in energy is what allowed us to come back. The sets kept coming at the end, and that was something that we had lost in the second set.” He added, “Our hitters did their job, passes were good, and the setters were good. We all connected.”
