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Kicking their feet in unison, the varsity volleyball team hypes each other up immediately before the game. The group huddle is a tradition before every game, establishing camaraderie.
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Jogging, Grace McCluskey ’26 high-fives varsity volleyball Coach Madison Smith before the game. As a senior, McCluskey made rounds to high-five important people around the court after throwing her rubber ball into the audience.
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Fixated, Piper Evans ’27 prepares to serve a ball during the first set.
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Concentrated, Lila Wellington ’27 sets the ball as outside hitter Emma Waghorne ’27 runs to spike it during the first set.
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Upset, Emily Xue ’27 and Caroline Miller ’28 contend the referee’s call in the second set. During an ambiguous foul, the Cedar Ridge Raiders were awarded a point, eliciting disagreement from the Warriors.
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Hands outstretched, Emily Xue ’27 sets a ball to outside hitter Emma Waghorne ’27 during the first set.
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Poised for action, outside hitter Caroline Miller ’28 prepares to throw her customized rubber ball to the feeder middle school volleyball teams before the game. As this game was Future Warrior Night, middle school volleyball teams from feeder schools attended the game, where they participated in a setting competition early on.
Clearing the court, the varsity volleyball team swept the Cedar Ridge Raiders with a winning score of 3-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The Warriors, coming off of a loss, used this game as a comeback after tweaking their plays and solidifying their routine. Using sharp serves, strong kills, and tight communication, the Warriors managed to squeeze out the win.
“I think overall, being able to win three sets and being able to fight back even when we were down were big highlights,” Coach Madison Smith said.
Starting the game strong, Emma Waghorne’ 27 opened the first set with an ace giving the Warriors the early lead. However, the Raiders were quick to follow this with a short run of three before quickly being met with strong Warrior defense to tie the game at four. With another kill and a few more blocks, the Raiders were forced to take the first time out of the night. Coming out of the timeout, both teams held high momentum with many quick rallies and back to back possessions. After a few Raider points in a row, the Warriors called a timeout to discuss their game plan. Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors scored the first point, proving their timeout to be a successful play. With skillful dives from Dakota Hodge ‘26 and a shifty back row, the Warriors managed to pull out the win after a tight back to back set. The final score of the first set was 25-23.
“I think our defense, serve receive, and back row are all very strong,” Coach Smith said. “I feel that our defense overall did a great job at setting our front row up for success.”
Bouncing right back into groove, the Warriors scored the first two points that opened the second set. Quickly advancing their score, the Warriors held the lead until the Raiders took a timeout to regroup and bring the score up to 11-15. Frazzled, the Warriors called a timeout hoping to adjust their game play. Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors shanked multiple balls and were unable to keep up with the Raiders’ continuous hits. Pulling Westwood out of their funk, Lila Wellington ‘27 tipped the ball over to break the Warriors scoring drought. After a few Westwood possessions, the game tied at 23. Cedar Ridge, unable to take the pressure, shanked two balls in a row, allowing Westwood to take the win. The final score of the second set was 25-23.
“[Communication] is a lot of knowing what you’re supposed to be doing,” Wellington said. “We don’t really have a lot of time to speak, but we just know where we are, where we have to be, and if we’re not there, then that’s a communication error and we’ll definitely talk about that after.”
Carrying over the same energy conveyed in the previous two sets, the Warriors began the third set with a strong streak of 9-0. Cedar Ridge, late to a timeout, allowed Westwood to slip through and hold their momentum. Coming out of the timeout, the Raiders were able to pull through, scoring two points to add to their side of the board. The Warriors, however, continued with their strong communication and sets, advancing the score 12-2. Determined to come back, the Raiders scored multiple quick points to throw the Warriors rhythm off. Now only up by four, the Warriors’ offense stepped up for their team, continuing to set up shifty net plays to hold their lead. Cedar Ridge, anxious at Westwood’s grit, called another timeout at 24-19. This timeout proved to be pointless, as Westwood scored the set point right out of the break. The final score of the third set was 25-19.
“[The win] was great,” Wellington said. “It was the motivation that we needed, especially going into the next game on Friday. Stony Point is one of our big games that we always play. We had a rough year with them last year, and we’re coming back for a better season. It’s going to be a rough week, but this is definitely the motivation that we needed for that.”
The Warriors will take the home court again on Friday, Sept. 19, to face the Stony Point Tigers in a fierce battle.
![Focused, Grace Toledo '28 prepares to set the ball, as part of the warm up. Toledo played a crucial role in backrow during the Warrior's game against the Raiders. "[In the third set] we fixed our serves, and filled in the gaps," Toledo said.](jpg/edit_2025-09-16_jvo-volleyball-vs-cedar-ridge_preeyapanwalker_1-e1758381918417-697x1200.jpg)
