Experience has led the Westfield volleyball team to a successful season this fall.
The Shamrocks won their 10th match of the year on Wednesday, sweeping Brownsburg 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference match at The Rock. The victory also makes the Shamrocks 2-0 in league play.
“We’re a very senior-heavy team,” said Westfield coach Sandra Burks. The coach said that her team is good at keeping its composure, something that helps the ‘Rocks whenever they find themselves in a deficit, as they did in the second set.
“They’ve played together for a while, they have a lot of seniority on their side,” said Burks. “And it has really played well for us because it keeps the girls calm and they’re able to bounce back.”
That’s just what Westfield did in the second set, when the Bulldogs had the Shamrocks down 10-4 early. Westfield scored five straight points to get within 10-9. Katie Sweet hit a kill, Grace Stewart served an ace, and Sweet and Harvey teamed up for a block.
The set was close for a while, with Brownsburg leading 18-16 late in the set. The ‘Rocks went on a 6-0 run at that point, which included kills from Harvey and Stewart and an ace from Peighton Isley. Kenzie Daffinee hit a kill on set point to put Westfield ahead 2-0 in sets.
The third set was also back and forth. The ‘Rocks went up 3-0, then the Bulldogs came back to lead 9-6. Westfield went on a four-point run after that, starting with a kill by Stewart, and Harvey spiked a kill to give the Shamrocks a 10-9 lead.
Westfield was finally able to pull away midway through the set, scoring three straight points to lead 16-13. Daffinee started the run with an ace; she served exceptionally strong in the match. One of Daffinee’s serves in the second set was an ace that she hit so hard, the sound reverberated throughout The Rock. She hit four aces for the match.
“Kenzie’s serve has become very consistent and I would say it’s even more lethal,” said Burks. “She’s starting to move it around a little bit more.”
Back to the third set: Westfield was able to stay ahead by two to four points for the latter stages of that set. Sweet finished the match with a kill, her 11th of the night.
“We work very hard on basically running everything through our middles and setting the tone with them so it opens up our other hitters,” said Burks. “And our middles do a very good job out of transition.”
After Sweet’s 11 kills, Daffinee had nine. Sarah Weglarz dished out 16 assists while Logan Mapes handed out 13.
Sweet and Harvey both made three blocks. Ellary Detamore collected 19 digs, followed by Weglarz with 11 and Isley with 10.
“Our defense is very strong,” said Burks. “And that’s a big thing about this is, any one of our defensive-type players that you put on the floor in the back row, they all can hold their own. We’re very deep in that respect.”
Westfield is now 10-2 for the season and is next scheduled to play Saturday at Brebeuf Jesuit.
Sheridan picked up its first Hoosier Heartland Conference win of the season on Wednesday, beating Taylor 25-19, 25-12, 25-16.
Allie Delph was strong on offense with 14 kills and three aces, and also had six digs. Taylor Bates handed out 23 assists to go with four digs and three aces. Kaiden Wilson added eight kills and two blocks.
Jacquellynne Bates hit five kills, while Lillie Dickerson had four. Emma Went collected eight digs with Abbi Clouser and Sierra Duke both getting four each.
The Blackhawks’ junior varsity team lost 25-23, 25-24. Valerie Adams served three aces, while Laney Inman had five digs, four kills and two aces. Lilly Chesney spiked four kills and handed out four assists and Kayla Beahrs made 10 digs.
Sheridan plays at Lapel tonight, with the JV starting at 6 p.m. and the varsity following.
Carmel swept North Central in a Tuesday Metropolitan Conference match, 25-21, 25-8, 25-19.
Macarty McQueen hit 17 kills and collected nine digs, with Savanna Rogers adding 11 kills and seven digs. Lexi Brehl had 23 digs and two aces, while Ella Bostic dished out 34 assists and hit three kills.
The Greyhounds beat Noblesville in three sets Wednesday, 25-18, 31-29, 25-15. Stats from this match will appear in a later edition.
Westfield’s Kenzie Daffinee (6) hit nine kills and four aces during the Shamrocks’ Wednesday win. (Kirk Green)