Girls’ Varsity Volleyball crushes Bedford in first game of season
Junior Veronica Xu hits the ball.
September 8, 2019
On Friday, September 6th, Westford Academy Varsity Girls’ Volleyball prevailed against Bedford in the first match of the season, winning three straight sets. After recovering from a slow start, WA dominated the opposition and pulled a 25-17, 25-16, 25-18 win.
At the beginning of the first set, WA maintained a lead, with Bedford consistently trailing close by. Around halfway through the set, Bedford began to catch up, managing to even out the score at 11-11, and stayed on WA’s tail for the next few points.
However, with exceptional playing from opposite hitters, Megan Tierney, and co-captain Alexa Wilson, Bedford’s score remained stagnant. As a result, the WA girls snatched the first set, 25-17.
“Initially we were a little sluggish to get going from the get go, but we came back strong as the game progressed. We worked much better together, we communicated a lot better and we read the hitters from the opposing team a lot better,” head coach Brandon Eang said.
From the second set onwards, the Bedford team started making frequent errors with their serves. Several landed in the net, or out-of-bounds, giving WA a lead. With middle hitter Sara Cannuscio and opposite hitter Allison McIntosh, along with superior serves from Anshu Punreddy and co-captain Skylar Anderson, Westford was able to seal the second set 25-17.
The final set was similar to the second, with several unforced errors from Bedford, and dominant play from Westford. Libero Veronica Xu, and opposite hitter Jordan Krauss, along with Skyler Anderson and Alexa Wilson played a significant role in the 25-18 win. The last point in the game comprised of Bedford being unable to return Krauss’ serve.
Overall, Westford committed two fouls during the longevity of the game, while Bedford had 0.
The crowd was electric throughout the match, cheering incessantly, and following each and every point of the game. There were a couple instances of some spectators yelling out errors on the scoreboard, and offering short pieces of advice to the players with a, ‘take it easy’. They were elated after the win.
For upcoming games, the team will be working on tightening up their defense and passing.
“We’re continuing to work with our defense and offense. Good defense will make a good offense. We’re trying to work on our passing […] we’ve been a little shaky on that. But today, we did well. You practice like you’re playing an actual game, and today, they really showed that” Eang said.
With victory early on in the season, the players are looking forward to the tournament later on in the fall.
“We’re feeling really good [about the win].” middle hitter Emma Hanrahan said. “We have another home game on Monday. So it’s a good start to the season and [we’re] closer to tournament.”
