On Tuesday, Oct. 4, the varsity volleyball team played Vandegrift for the second round of their district season. With their undefeated streak of 7-0, the Lady Warriors gave the game their all, but unfortunately, their streak came to a sharp end, and a harsh wave of disappointment swept over the team.

The final score of the game was 3-1; the Warriors made a fierce shift in the second set that reignited hope for the audience, beating Vandergrift 25- 23, but couldn’t make much of a  comeback after that. Throughout the game, Vandegrift won several points by playing close to the net and executing short attacks on Westwood’s left side. Their setters and hitters targeted the team’s blind spots, focusing solely on short attacks/tips during the third and fourth sets.

“I think Vandergrift watched a lot of film [on us],” Rachel Cai ‘24 said. “They really scouted what our hitting, setting, and defense was gonna be like, so they really got all of our open spots on the court.”

Although they weren’t victorious, the Lady Warriors maintained their sportsmanship even as the game intensified. Avoiding negative court talk and constantly lifting each other up, the team continued to fight, keeping a close trail behind Vandegrift’s lead.

“After a loss, we individually self-reflect and then move on from it,” Lola Fernandez ‘23 said. “We focus on the positives that happened during the game and then talk about how we are going to make a change next practice or next game.”

With the playoffs less than a month away, the team is dedicated to practicing harder than ever to clean up loose ends before their next game. 

“This game [on] Friday is really important,” Trinity Woods ‘23 said. “Vista, just like Vandy, is coming for us and they actually beat Vandy, so now that they lost they might have an idea in their minds that they could beat us. If we can go out and beat them, [especially] going into Round Rock next week, [then] it will make things a lot easier. This game is going to make us get focused and do what needs to be done.”

Victories and Losses aside, there are many exciting announcements for our Lady Warriors. Fernandez has verbally committed to Fordham University for D1 volleyball, Alex Kriz ‘23 has verbally committed to the University of California-Davis for beach volleyball, Woods recently announced to play D1 volleyball at Marist College, and Julia Hopkins ‘24 recently announced to play D2 volleyball at Angelo State University. Additionally, Cai was nominated for the Austin Statesman athlete of the week for her outstanding setting performance so far this season.

The Lady Warriors will play their next game this Friday, Oct. 7, at Vista Ridge. Visit this website for more information on Westwood Volleyball.