Varsity volleyball put up an honorable fight on Tuesday, Sept. 24 during their game against the Stony Point Tigers but eventually lost the game three sets to one.

The first set started with a few points from Stony Point, but to turn the tide, a powerful hit from Grace McCluskey ‘26 brought the Warriors to 2-4. Following this lead a powerful kill and an ace from Dakota Hodge ‘26 got the crowd cheering and brought the Warriors to 7-7, putting the Warriors back in the game. Following another point from Westwood, the Stony Point Tigers called a timeout to discuss strategy and stop Westwood’s momentum. This timeout forced Westwood to stop in their tracks, causing a few fumbles that brought the Tigers up 14-11. The stadium boomed as Moncada scored two back-to-back points, bringing the Warriors to 15-14. Throughout the game, neither team showed signs of slowing down, continuing to match the others’ points. This full-speed-ahead mentality led to a Stony Point timeout at 19-19 where the Warriors began to up their game. A quick block from Emma Waghorne ‘27 and a kill from Harper Zoll ‘25 brought Westwood 21-20. After a timeout to discuss strategy, the Warriors took the court once again and won the first set 25-23.

The Warriors started the second set strong, riding the wave of their last victory, quickly gaining the lead. Similar to the last set, set two proved to be another close game. An ace by Waghorne brought Westwood to 10-10, and fortunately, another kill from Zoll brought Westwood to 12-11. Now nearing the end of the set, as Stony Point began to fumble, the Tigers called a timeout at 20-18 to attempt to reduce their mistakes and lock down a second-set win. Coming out of the huddle, the Tigers picked up their pace, forcing a Warriors’ timeout to discuss strategy to combat their continued aggression. Zoll scored a crowd-deafening kill to bring the score to 23-24. However, even though the Warriors put up a good fight, Stony Point won in the end with a devastating kill, making the final score 25-23.

“It’s really important to know that everyone around me cares for me,” Wellington said. “The social surroundings of the whole team really bring it all together.” 

Set three was yet another close one as Stony Point scored the first point of the set, Sahasra Mandalapu ‘25 clapped back with two digs in one play, hyping up the team and audience. However, the Warriors, falling behind, called a timeout down at 11-4. Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors were filled with energy, ready to push through the set. Waghorne scored an ace to bring the Warriors to 8-12. After a timeout from both teams, the Warriors manage to add a few more points to the score but the Tigers push hard and manage to pull out the win. The final score of the set was 22-25. 

“The practice before a game, we tell each other to go home and when you’re going to bed, visualize us running out, us warming up, and [scoring] the first point,” Massey said. “We also always do a dance party before every game in the locker room so that [kind of] gets everyone in the right mindset.” 

Stony Point started off set number four with a bang, scoring their first point off of a quick kill. But, the Warriors matched this energy with another kill by Zoll and an ace from Wellington that brought Westwood 2-2 with the Tigers. A well-executed kill from Zoll brought Westwood into striking distance and hyped up the team as they fought hard to get the win. Later, after a long series of back-and-forth plays, a strong hit from Waghorne brought the teams to a tie 16-16. Soon, pulling together a push at the last tipping point of the game, Stony Point won the final set 25-18 and the whole game 3-1. 

Varsity volleyball will be playing their next game on Friday, Sept. 27 at the Field Gym for their Senior Night against the Manor Mustangs at 6:30 p.m.