Westwood spirit filled the Field House on Monday, Oct. 30 as the varsity volleyball team (28-16) took on the Anderson Trojans (16-22) in the bi-district playoff game. The stands were full with members of the Tribe, supportive parents, and the JV and freshman volleyball players who created their own cheers for the game. The Trojans competed well, but overall were no match the the Lady Warriors skills, allowing the Warriors to win in three straight sets.

The Lady Warriors started the game with a bang by not allowing the Trojans to score for multiple points. Quickly, the Lady Warriors were up 8-1 which caused the Trojan’s coach to call a timeout. However, this timeout did not throw the team off of their game. Maddi Kriz ‘19 and Audrey Quesnel ‘20 gained points with multiple kills throughout the set. With final serves from Lauren Gregorczyk ‘18 and a kill from Kriz, the Lady Warriors won the set 25-11.

“I thought it was an awesome game and a great win,” outside hitter Maggie Stout ‘19 said. “We are going to have a ton of practices this week to prepare for the next game. I am excited for the next game and I think we should do really well.”

In the second set, the Trojans seemed to gain some momentum as they had less errors and pushed the Lady Warriors out of rotation at times. However, the Lady Warriors never lost the lead. Possession of the serve switched between the two teams until the Trojans began to make errors, giving the Lady Warriors a stronger lead. With kills from Zoe Menendez ‘20 and Stout, the score reached 24-14 until Kriz served an ace to win the set 25-14.

“It feels amazing to win this game. It was surprising to end up with a home game, since I have been here we have never hosted a playoff game,” head coach Tara Nelson said. “The way our schedule was set up, we finished with all these away games. We only have two home games out of the last six so it’s been so long since we have got to play on our home court and its pretty awesome to get to play this game here.”

It appeared that both teams went into the third set with the mindset to compete and win, but the Lady Warriors never struggled to remain in the lead. The Trojans scored the first point, but with strong net coverage by middle blocker Emily Low ‘18 and tip coverage from Gregorczyk, they were able to adapt to the Trojans strategic shots. Strong serving and hits often threw the Trojans out of rotation, allowing a further lead. When the Lady Warriors were close to victory, they seemed to be feeling the win, and the Trojans gained seven points putting the score at 23-18 before the Lady Warriors gained the serve back. With a final ace from Kriz, the third set ended with a score of 25-18, earning the Lady Warriors the title of bi-district champions.

“I thought we served really tough which put [the Trojans] out of system but also missed some serves along with that. I think we got a little complacent there towards the end,” Coach Nelson said. “They burned us on the donut shot, [which are hits to the middle of the court], all night if we didn’t pick it up which was one of the most frustrating things as a coach. Overall they played tough, hit really well, and played with confidence.”

The Lady Warriors, now with a record of 29-16 overall, will continue in their playoffs journey as they take on Klein Collins on Thursday, Nov. 3 at Bastrop High School.