Despite valiant effort, Westwood freshman volleyball fell short against the Vandegrift Vipers on Friday, Sept. 26. Even with lightning quick digs and strong communication, the Warriors succumbed to the Vipers with a score of 2-1.

Opening the first set with high energy, Westwood was on fire from the opening serve, with Vandegrift’s out of bounds ball giving the Warriors an early lead. Determined to keep this momentum, a four-ace streak from Grace Kinnison ‘29 allowed the Warriors to stretch their lead and boost team confidence. Westwood’s powerful attacks sent the Vipers spiraling, forcing them to take the first timeout of the night at 7-3. Despite the Lady Warriors’ head start, constant missed receives and failed communication allowed Vandegrift to quickly catch up. Both teams relentlessly fought neck-to-neck for the lead, keeping the game fast paced and intense. However, Westwood took initiative, refusing to let the Vipers widen the point gap any more. Quick saves from Layla Guerra ‘29 kept the ball in play, fueling the team’s fire to win. Constant out of bounds serves from Vandegrift let the Warriors stack up more points, letting them take the first set 25-19.

“I need to be happy and not nervous [during games],” Gissel Gavina ‘29 said. “I need good confidence for our team to play good.”

After a quick team huddle, the second set began with Westwood serving out of bounds, giving the Vipers the opening point. Even with Vandegrift initially taking the lead, the Lady Warriors responded with fierce kills and synchronized communication to keep their offense in line. Aggressive attacks from Khloe Hogan ‘29 sent the Vipers tripping over themselves, allowing Westwood to make up for their previous missed points. However, the fire that started in the Warriors’ favor began to sizzle out. The Lady Warriors continued to miss spikes and serves, allowing Vandegrift grab easy points and take  the lead once again. A Vandegrift timeout displaced Westwood’s concentration, giving the Vipers an opening to swoop in and close the set. Frequent defensive blunders by Westwood closed this deal and allowed Vandegrift to steal the second set 25-17.

“We’ve been practicing covering,” Ellie Silkey ‘29 said. “We used to not be amazingly good at it, but now during practice we focus all on that. We still need to work on self deflects, though.” 

Despite the previous lost set, Westwood was pumped up to shift the momentum back their way. The third set launched with an intense rally aided by tight digs from Aahana Desai ‘29, but ultimately ended with a Vandegrift point. However, energizing cheers from the bench disrupted the Vipers’ initial lead and distracted the Vipers server, forcing her to serve a net ball and allowing Westwood back into the game. The loss from the second set gave Westwood the clear mindset needed to take back the lead, with cutthroat kills allowing the point gap to widen in the Warriors’ favor. The team’s energy was high, but even though Westwood’s digs were both fast and accurate, Warrior defense was unable to receive balls flying in from the Vipers side of the net.. Vandegrift’s points continued to stack, letting them take back the lead. In a devastating final point, Westwood’s missed ball gave Vandegrift the win, losing the set 25-14 and game 2-1.

“I focus on my mindset [after making an error],” Gavina said. “If you’re stuck in your head, you’re not going to be focused and won’t be able to pass as good.”

Westwood takes the home court again on Tuesday, Sept. 30 against the Hutto Hippos.