In a neck-and-neck match, the varsity volleyball team faced off against the Vandegrift Vipers on Friday, Sept. 26. Though the Warriors demonstrated quick thinking skills, and competitive spirit, the Vipers swept the win 3-0. 

“Our goal was to win, or at least get to five sets,” Sriya Chakravarthy ‘27 said. “In the beginning of the game we had a lot of energy and momentum.”

Several minutes after the first whistle, the Warriors earned the first point of the night after a long rally. This type of play would remain common throughout all three sets as both teams were determined for the win. Opening the set, Dakota Hodge ‘26 set the bar for the Warriors, presenting her team with numerous hustle plays and point-saving digs. Not only did Hodge exert team leadership with her digs, Piper Evans ‘27 opened the scene of net play, executing back-to-back blocks which allowed the Warriors to gain an early lead. 

After a few possession changes, the Vipers were able to pull the score up to a tie at 4-4,  a trend continued throughout the night as the Warriors and Vipers never remained more than five points away from each other until the closing rally. Reaching deep to  release the Warriors from this tie, Coach Madison Smith took Chakravarthy off the bench to join her teammates on the court. Within seconds Chakravarthy quickly scored a kill for the Warriors bringing them up 5-4. Vandergrift, pushing the same pace, swiftly tied the score back up at 5-5; however, they could not hold it for long, as Chakravarthy pulled the same move, resulting in the same outcome and putting the Warriors up once again. 

After a few more rounds of this aggressive back-to-back play on the Warriors’ end, the Vipers are pressured into taking their play up a notch. With a 3-0 run for the Vipers, they are able to steal their first lead of the night and gain the largest point disparity so far in the first set. The Warriors take their time to regroup and set up smart net plays, with hopes of catching the Vipers in a bind. However, their efforts fail as the Vipers continue to hold their lead at 20-17. Jumping back refreshed from a Warrior timeout,  the Warriors’ hope for a reset is quickly crushed by continued Vandergrift momentum, allowing them to score the first point out of the timeout. Westwood defense attempts to contain the Vipers’ hits but are unable to hold them down, leading to the Vipers stealing the win of the first set 25-19.

“[When blocking] I watch the ball and make sure to really press over the net,” Evans said. “It’s so rewarding to get a block and get a point off of it, because your team hypes you up and it’s really a big energy point.” 

Mirroring the first set, the second began with a long rally, however the resemblance quickly stopped there as the Vipers pocketed the first point of the second set, leaving the Warriors behind. Holding this lead, the Vipers catch the Warriors in a bind by drawing in their offense closer to the net while simultaneously  placing balls strategically in the backcourt. As the Warriors began to fall for the Vipers’ tricks, they called a timeout at 9-4, with hopes of assessing the damage and rebuilding their offensive strategy.

While the Vipers score the first point out of the timeout with a Westwood net ball, the Warriors stayed determined and were able to score off a kill, giving them their first point in four minutes. Holding the Vipers to 11, the Warriors began to climb the ladder and advance their score, with Emma Waghorne ‘27 leading charge and making smart tips when Westwood needed it most. While Waghorne continued to direct her team, the Vipers started to both under and over hit the ball, giving Westwood an easy confidence boost. While this confidence held the Warriors up momentarily, an increasing Viper lead resulted in the Warriors’ previous high energy to plummet. As the Warriors searched for a source to bounce the court life back up, the Vipers continued to hold their lead, using steady hits and consistent serves. 

Once again acting as a backbone for Warrior offense, Evans secures a huge block for the Warriors — exactly what the court needed to pull themselves back into the game. Following this, Lila Wellington ‘27 used her quick thinking skills to side set and throw the Viper offense off their line. Scoring yet another kill for her team, Chakravarthy held the Vipers to 15 , enabling the Warriors to climb the scoreboard. This huge play brought the Warriors within two points of the Vipers at 15-13. Following this, the Vipers swapped momentum and began to reciprocate the same high energy, pulling the score up with a rapid bout of kills and strong defense, only allowing Westwood to sneak in two within their six point run. The Warriors attempted to slow this growing pace down with a timeout, with the score at 21-15. 

The timeout however, proves to be pointless as the Vipers don’t allow any more Warrior points in the remainder of the set. Vandegrift quickly closes the set down with a final block, allowing them to steal the second set 25-15.

“Going into the third set, we told ourselves that it would be our last time playing Vandegrift,” Evans said. “We told ourselves this third set was going to be ours to take, we told everyone to relax and reset.” 

Following suit of the previous set, the opening point of the third began with a long rally followed by a Viper tip and point. However, the Warriors remained collected and did not let this early Viper point dull their spark. Evans quickly adds another block to her stats for the night, giving Westwood their first point of the set. Using teamwork to their advantage, Waghorne and Evans work together to set up strong plays starting with Waghorne in the back row and ending with a shark kill by Evans. This set up worked in the Warriors favor as they quickly tied the set early on at 3-3. Another electric kill by Evans allowed the Warriors to swing their first lead of the set at 4-3. 

Holding onto this advantage, the Warriors continued to utilize all positions on the court as points began to add up from all different locations. After a kill by Grace McCluskey ‘26, Westwood achieved their largest lead of the night, advancing ahead by four. With hopes of shutting down this streak, the Vipers call a timeout at 6-10. Coming out of the timeout, the Vipers scored the first point after a long rally. However, this didn’t bruise the Warriors as they held their lead and continued to grow it with hits from Chakravarthy. While Westwood’s offense remained consistent, their defense began to lose energy; this allowed for multiple shanked balls and miscommunication mistakes, resulting in a tie 14-14. With more miscommunication mistakes in store for the Warriors, the Vipers managed to gain back their lead. While the Vipers held strength to push for the win, so did the Warriors, tying the game back up at 15-15 and then again at 17-17. Culminating this quick-paced back and forth stalemate between the teams, the Vipers stretched into a lead and added an additional three points to their score. With a score of 20-17, the Warriors called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Vandergrift gained the first point off of a questionable call that shook the entire court. This resulted in the Warriors being forced to use another timeout to assess the previous call. However, the call stayed in Vandergrift’s favor as they took that point  — along with five more back-to-back, to claim their win. The final score of the third set was 25-19. 

“Playing with these girls since July has been such a gift,” Avnee Upadhye ‘27 said. “I know how my team moves, and plays; that helps me trust the people around me.”

The Lady Warriors will take the court again to tackle the Hutto Hippos on Tuesday Sept 30.