JV Orange Volleyball brought the heat to their home court as they faced the McNeil Mavericks, on Tuesday Sept, 9. The Warriors had previously played the Mavericks on Saturday Sept. 6 at a local tournament. Killer serves, followed by clutch digs, and hustle plays, allowed the Lady Warriors to take home a quick win of 2-0.

“We knew how they played, we knew where they usually tipped, and we knew how they served,” Isabelle Call ‘28 said. “So we were definitely well prepared for how the team was going to play. Before this, we had practice until six last night, [where] we worked on getting our serves over and aces.” 

Right from the get go, the Lady Warriors dominated the court conceding four points within the first few minutes of the game. The Warriors served sharp balls, time and time again, breaking past the Maverick’s defense. Henley Hammonds ‘28 was crucial in scoring as she collected many aces through the set. However, a sneaky serve by Maverick defence brought them up 4-1 and gave them possession of the ball. However, that didn’t stop the Warriors, as they proceeded to score five points following the Mavericks one. Afterwards, a mix of precise serves and Maverick blunders widened the lead to 9-1. Continuing with the trend, the Lady Warriors set up numerous nifty plays at the net and began cruising once again further expanding the point gap to 10. The Warriors allowed for McNeil to sneak in a few points, but remained poised on offense, advancing the score to 22-8. After a brief timeout Westwood finished off the Mavericks in the first set at 25-10. 

“I think in the first set, we were a lot more consistent in placing the ball and not just trying to score.” Quinn Ewert ‘28 said.

The Mavericks came out of halftime hot and ready to give the Warriors a fair fight. Starting strong, the Mavericks scored 3 quick points against the Warriors to open the set. However, the Warriors came back with crucial serves to make up for the brief let up of momentum. Unfortunately, small mistakes, and lack of communication opened the door for the Mavericks to gain back their lead. Up by two, and keeping Westwood on their toes, the Mavericks strengthened their defence, but Westwood was still able to adjust and continued to concede against the Mavericks’ running lead. Closing in on the gap, the Westwood offence pulled together to bring the score to a tie at 22. Utilizing strong serves, the Lady Warriors brought the score to 24-23. Crucial moments for both teams approaching, Westwood just one point from taking home the victory, and the Mavericks a few points from a last shot at set 3. McNeil gave Westwood a tough kill tying the game at 24. Needing to win by two, a strong spike by Call got Westwood a point closer to the win and put the crowd on their feet. Following Call’s kill, a shanked ball from the Mavericks side of the net solidified the Warriors win. The final score of the second set was 26-24. The Lady Warriors dealt with the pressure, fought hard, and out hustled the Mavericks, concluding the game at 2-0. 

“[In the second set] I think we had to focus a little more on defense and also offense, because we missed a lot of serves,” Court Captain Grace Toledo ‘28 said. “We also could have picked up some more balls and communicated a little more.” 

The Warriors now set out to prepare for their next game this Friday, Sept. 12 against the Round Rock Dragons.