On Tuesday, Oct. 18, the varsity volleyball team played Manor High School. This was the last game before homecoming, and the team brought home yet another home win of 3-0. Tuesday’s game was also Senior Night for the athletes graduating this year. 

The night started with each team’s routine warmup time. After the singing of the star-spangled banner, and introducing the opposing team, the Westwood volleyball seniors were celebrated in a brief ceremony, congratulating the girls and giving them a moment to reflect on their last four years of volleyball.

“It wasn’t our last home game, so it didn’t feel like [senior night] yet,” Katie Liu ‘23 said. “It felt weird because it didn’t feel like this game would ever come for us. We had always seen the seniors before us, but it felt weird being those seniors [this year].”

Around 20 minutes into the first set, Westwood was up 18-5. Manor struggled to get hits over the net and lacked a solid defense to Westwood’s left side. Most points were acquired through incomplete net play on Manor’s part, with Westwood’s defensive middle blockers also influencing the score. The first set ended 25-6. Throughout the second set, the coaches traded in various senior athletes, including Laure Giannanti, Ella Wood, Macie Gordon, and Bella Shiez. Although Manor picked up the pace, Westwood still won the set 25-12, mainly through targeting Manor’s weak spots including behind their middle blocker and close to the net.

“[Last night’s] game meant a lot to me,” Allie Shepherd ‘23 said. “We got to honor all of our seniors and made sure all of our seniors got to play. We [also] all got an opportunity to go on the court and give back to the team and program that we’ve been a part of for the last four years.”

In the last set, coaches subbed in not only seniors but a handful of juniors too- this being the first time all season that the court wasn’t composed of only starters. Manor kept a close trail throughout the third set of the game but lost their momentum as Westwood surpassed them at 13 points. The game ended 25-13, with Westwood victorious again.

After thanking their opponents, the girls did a final group circle before breaking out and going to greet their families. Since tonight was one of the last games before playoff season, it was emotional for many.

“My senior season has been both happy and sad,” Shepherd continued. “I’m happy because I got to celebrate lots of wins with my teammates this year and we’re most likely going to be co-district champs as well. But it’s sad because I won’t be playing volleyball in college, so this is my last season of volleyball ever.”

Defensive Specialist Terin Score ‘23 also commemorated her time on the team.

“My senior season has been very fulfilling,” Score said. “Getting to play with all my best friends one final year, it’s been great just to watch us grow. We’ve had so much success so far this year.”

The varsity volleyball team will play twice more before the bi-districts playoffs on Monday, Oct. 31. The team will play their next game this Friday, Oct. 21, for the homecoming and parent night game against Stony Point.