On Tuesday, Oct. 3, the varsity volleyball team beat their rivals, the Vandegrift Vipers, 3-1 in a tense four set match that had the whole crowd on its toes. This was an especially exciting win considering the Warriors lost to the Vipers 3-2 in the first round of their district play making this a revenge game. Westwood showcased their offensive prowess through well orchestrated kills and blocks, as well as their ability to control Vandegrft’s attacks. Julia Hopkins ‘24 led the team offensively with 22 kills, while Harper Zoll ‘25 and Dakota Hodge ‘26 both led with 4 aces. On the other end, Sahasra Mandalapu commanded the defense with 26 digs. 

“This was definitely a big win that put us in a better position going into the second round,” Hopkins said. “Everyone was playing their best and we worked for every ball. Our defense picked it up from the last time we played and starting the game off strong helped us a lot in the long run.”

The first set began with the Vipers taking a quick lead, but the Warriors did not allow it for long. Westwood earned points through seamless attacks, but committed multiple errors contributing to Vandegrift’s lead. Eventually, the Warriors managed to clean up their gameplay and catch up, matching the score. Through formidable hits by Hopkins and Olivia Hendricks ‘24, the Warriors gained a comfortable lead and beat the Vipers to the 20 point mark at 20-16. Westwood continued to send in hits, exploiting the open space on the back end of the court, contributing to their 25-23 first-set victory.

The Warriors entered the second set with similar issues, committing errors such as hitting the ball out of bounds or into the net. However, the Vipers were making similar errors   keeping the score even for the first half of the set. Vandegrift eventually managed to gain a lead as Westwood struggled defensively, with a failure to successfully block or control attacks. During a timeout near the end of the set  timeout, the score was 18-14, with Westwood losing,  after the timeout, however the Warriors came back into the game with newfound energy and motivation. They began stringing together a plethora of attacks, once again finding the open back of the court. They caught up to the Vipers  at the 20 point mark,  tied at 20-20. Then began a series of exciting plays, both teams earning points back and forth. This gameplay continued up until Westwood blocked Vandegrift’s spike winning the set 31-29. 

In the beginning of the third set, the Warriors earned an early lead in part by  blocks from  Grace McCluskey ‘25 and setter dumps from  Rachel Cai ‘24. Although Vandegrift was behind by a close second, Westwood managed to maintain this lead throughout the first half of the set. However, their lead was short lived as Westwood began giving up streaks of points by hitting the ball straight into blocks. Additionally, Vandegrift began to exploit the open space at the back of the court through well executed kills. Although the Warriors began to clean their gameplay, the Vipers won the set 25-18  when the Warriors touched the net, resulting in  a penalty. 

The match-deciding fourth set began with the Vipers in the lead as they sent in a series of kills the Warriors were unable to control. They exploited open spaces on Westwood’s half of the court, which the Warriors were slow to move to. However, the Warriors quickly stepped up their defense  by blocking the Viper’s attacks at net and controlling their serves. With a confident kill by Hopkins, the Warriors caught up to the Vipers  11-11. This success prompted the Warriors to continue sending in attacks, leading them to earn a small but sufficient lead. This lead was once again short lived as Westwood began sending  multiple balls out of bounds and making multiple miscommunication-based errors. Vandegrift was first to reach 20 points with Westwood at 17 not far behind. However, the Vipers began to hit the ball into the net, giving Westwood the serve. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zoll went on to score a series of aces, followed by Hodge who scored a few of her own as well. Through these aces, the Warriors took the lead with the set ending 25-23 when Hopkins hit a line shot to the back corner of the court. 

“We played amazing,” Hendricks said. “We started off strong by winning the first two sets. Although the game was close I felt like we played calm and didn’t panic when we were down by a few points.”

The Warriors play next at Round Rock High School on Tuesday, Oct. 10, versus their rivals the Dragons.