Girls volleyball co-captain and outside hitter Vivian Roberts (12) spiked the ball over the net, past the line of Rancho Bernardo players where it slammed down with a resounding boom to earn the team a kill, Oct. 17. The cheering crowd whooped and clapped from the stands as they waved signs of the seniors’ faces with exuberance, and the team gathered into a celebratory huddle before returning to their positions. Westview dominated in a 3-0 victory at their Senior Night game.
According to Roberts, the team had coordinated plays that won them consistent points.
“We were being intentional with sets and smart with our shots so we could efficiently get points,” Roberts said. “[That] played a huge factor. It was really important that we spread the offense to keep the blockers on the other side of the net confused and hopefully make them late to the block. I’ve noticed that when we spread the offense and set everyone, we get a lot more points. The defense on the opposing side is left guessing and leaves open seams which is easier to score points on. And when you do get set, it’s super important to be smart with where you place it. I was very aware of when it was best for me to swing or to just tip or roll shot the ball to specific areas of the court. We got a couple points just by simply shooting the ball to the middle of the court which helped us gain momentum as well.”
Co-captain and setter Angeline Nguyen (12) said that the middle blockers’ hits were especially strong.
“I was connecting with our middles, so they got some big swings, and we were just having fun,” Nguyen said. “I was having fun, and everything was flowing well.”
Throughout the season, libero Peyton Jensen (12) said the team worked to improve in serve-receive and making quick plays, and their work paid off at the Senior Night game.
“With repetition, we improved, and playing people who were good and schools that were better than us helped us improve,” she said. “As a team, we all wanted to get better, so we all showed up with that mentality and put in full effort to help each other get better. That helped throughout the season for the improvement of everyone. We focused on tuning in on our serve-receive, because you can win games just with serving even if you’re not necessarily bigger at the net. [On Senior Night,] we set up plays for our offense [quickly] so the defense wouldn’t be sitting and waiting.”
The Wolverines won the first and third sets 25-16, while the second was a close victory of 26-24.
“We played Rancho Bernardo the week before, and we won in three sets, so we knew we could beat them,” Roberts said. “We almost lost the second set, but I think we really came together in the last five points. We told each other, ‘We know we can win against them, so let’s do our jobs.’ We were hoping to [win] again, and that’s what we did.”
Before the game, the seniors were celebrated with heartfelt speeches from teammates and coaches.
“During the ceremony, it was super emotional,” Roberts said. “The seniors, we are the closest of friends, so knowing that the season was coming to an end was sad, but we felt super loved by everyone on our team.”
Roberts will be playing volleyball after high school in D-I at Boise State University. Jensen said that Senior Night was especially emotional for her, since she isn’t going to continue playing volleyball in college.
“[Senior Night] was bittersweet,” Jensen said. “It’s one of the things where I’m happy because I’m celebrating it, but at the same time, it’s sad because I know this is my last season with these girls, my last season with these people, and my last season in general. At the same time, it’s more happy than sad, because it’s celebrating all the work that we’ve put in over these four years.”
