Westwood Varsity Beats Hendrickson, Secures Perfect Season

Arthur Wang, Reporter| October 28, 2016

  • Tori Clitheroe ’18 celebrates after a successful point.

    Nicole Dhar
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  • Outside hitter Annie Rose Leggett ’17 and middle blockers Emily Low ’18 and Ashlyn Hill ’17 all jump up for a block.

    Nicole Dhar
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  • Annie Rose Leggett ’17 jumps for a serve.

    Nicole Dhar
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  • Paige Etherington ’17 sets the ball for Cara Dolbear’s ’17 attack.

    Nicole Dhar
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  • The team embraces each other to celebrate the end of a set.

    Nicole Dhar
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  • Rylee Davis ’17 stands with her parents to reflect upon the season.

    Nicole Dhar
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The varsity volleyball team won 3-0 against the Hendrickson Hawks on Tuesday, Oct. 25. This victory marks the team’s first perfect season since 2009.

“It’s Senior Night, which is an emotional night, but the girls started a little shaky and jittery, but once they kind of shook it off and realized ‘we’re just playing volleyball’, it definitely changed the game a little bit,” head volleyball coach Tara Nelson said. “But the biggest contribution is senior leadership and their mentality. You know, they don’t let anything hit the floor. They go after everything, and that’s not something I necessarily have to train them to do, they do that all on their own.”

While the first set was a close 25-20, the Lady Warriors were able to secure a much stronger lead in the final two sets, winning 25-14 and 25-17. The team captain, Cara Dolbear ‘17, was a major contributor for the entire game. Each of the plays in each set were made possible due to the balanced formation of three players covering net, one in the middle, and two players hanging back, allowing the Lady Warriors to effectively cover the entire playing area. Westwood’s strong offensive attacks and the ability to block Hendrickson’s own forces were the main factors that contributed to victory.

“I’m very excited – this is all that we worked for every season, and it’s so rewarding for this season to have the undefeated district champs title,” middle blocker Dolbear said.

With a perfect season, Westwood will be able to participate in the playoffs, starting with their bi-district playoff game on Tuesday, Nov. 1. However, after those games the volleyball season will truly be over, and the varsity seniors will have to say farewell. While some will continue playing volleyball into college, others plan to simply play it as a hobby and focus on academics in their college years.

“I have a lot of good friends on this team so I’m gonna miss them a lot,” Dolbear said. “I mean, as a senior, you’re essentially leaving everyone behind so it’s kind of hard, but it’s good to know that we finished out this way.”