Westfield repeats as Union County champions in volleyball

Story by PJ Potter of NJ.com

The Blue Devils hang on to their county trophy. For the second consecutive season, Westfield – ranked No. 17 in the NJ.com Top 20 – walks away as Union County champions.

The Blue Devils found themselves trailing 8-4 in the second set on Friday at Kean University after opening up the match with a set win over No. 19 Union Catholic. Adjustments were imperative in order for Westfield to re-steer the ship back on their side – and they did just that.

Ripping to a 15-4 run that included nine straight points, Westfield (16-4) overtook Union Catholic (18-5) in a 25-17, 25-21 effort to keep the trophy within possession.

“I can take a big breath now. We split with Union Catholic in the regular season and we knew they would come to compete. We saw them play in the county semifinals and I said that they are totally on their A-game,” Westfield head coach Bev Torok said.

“But we really started to dial in and make the 50-50 plays. We also began serving better and that set the tone for us.”

All-State returner Caitlin Cabrales was the server during the Blue Devils’ match-swinging run. She logged a pair of aces and slammed five kills in the victory, bringing her season total to 116 kills and 32 aces.

“Once Caitlin went on her serving run, I knew the momentum would be on our side. It really started to feel like we were going to close the door,” Westfield libero Chloe Wiedman said.

Wiedman amassed a dozen digs to lead a defense that stymied one of the best offensive duos in New Jersey in Union Catholic’s Haiden Fuhrmann and Rachel Williams. Wiedman’s first step to finding her spot on the opponent’s hits were as perfect as a coach could hope for, keeping the ball off the floor to start up Westfield’s own play.

“Chloe was all over the court. We have definitely defense here at Westfield and Chloe really showed that today. I think our defense really saw the whole game unravel in front of them. They played so technical,” Torok said.

Wiedman’s familiarity with the Vikings made her more comfortable in such a high-level matchup.

“Having played UC so often the past few years, we’ve learned to read their hitters better. They are great players and we knew that we needed to be solid on defense,” Wiedman said.

Wiedman now has 219 digs in 2023 and 523 for career.

“Chloe was insane on defense. We were all blown away by what she did,” Cabrales added.

Wiedman was joined by all of her teammates in tallying some digs. Cabrales contributed five alongside seven from Olivia Calandra, four each from Abby Pevzner Gena Gauthier, and three from Giuliana Gallo.

Ava Gaspard and Keira Deignan muscled two blocks apiece upfront, which were deemed to be the biggest plays of the match.

“Deignan’s block were so key for us. Those two blocks really made the match feel like it was ours. Our confidence sky-rocketed,” Torok said.

All season long, the Blue Devils have relied on every player to rack up kills. It’s been up to the duo-setting squad to find who has the open hitting lanes, and Torok was pleased with the distribution. Calandra and Gauthier went for eight and six assists, respectively. Calandra spiked five kills, too.

“Our setters were really big today and they cleaned up any errors that we tried to work on before this match,” Torok said.

The Vikings did make Westfield sweat a bit at the end. Trailing 24-16 in the final frame, Union Catholic stormed back and scored five straight points to force one more timeout before the Blue Devils’ celebration.

Union Catholic’s Rachel Williams and Haiden Fuhrmann each ripped six kills, giving them 195 and 227 kills this year, respectively.

These teams have been at the top of Union County for quite some time, and the 2023 season has shown to be no different. Westfield fought out the sweeping win in order to be back-to-back champions.

Now it’s time to celebrate.

“UC has been our biggest rivalry. It feels awesome to get another win against them, especially after they beat us most recently. For this to be a two-peat is the best feeling ever,” Cabrales said.

“As a senior, there is no better feeling. Being able to bring one more county title back to Westfield means a lot for all of us,” Wiedman finished.