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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Westwood High varsity girls volleyball team earned an amazing 3-2 come-from-behind victory at home against Ursuline Academy on Tuesday evening.
Despite hard fought efforts in the first two sets, the Wolverines (6-3, 5-3) fell behind 2-0 after Ursuline was able to pull out the victory in the first two sets (25-23, 27-25), putting the Wolverines’ backs up against the wall.
Westwood rallied with a 25-19 victory in the third set despite being down multiple points several times, before taking the fourth set 25-18 and capping off the comeback with a 15-9 victory in set five.
The Wolverines celebrate the fourth set victory.
With Emily Bosco unable to serve for the Wolverines on Tuesday, head coach Jennifer Murphy turned to Jordan Jud to pick up the slack, and Jud stepped up to the task and helped lead the comeback for Westwood. Of Jud’s 15 serves in the match, six were aces.
“Jordan doesn’t normally see a ton of playing time due to our strong depth but she really came out and did her job last night and stood out,” said Murphy. “Her ability to serve extremely well and play strong defense were the two main contributors that allowed us to fight back from way behind in the third set.”
Emily Buonato also stepped up big for the Wolverines on Tuesday night according to Murphy.
“Emily filled in on the back row on defense and overall had a really clean game. She is showing a new confidence in her passing and has become a really reliable defensive player for us.”
Yara Nassif led the Wolverines in kills with 13 on the night and had three aces on 20 serve attempts. Murphy praised Nassif on her efforts following the victory.
“She has been a really versatile player for us this season,” said Murphy. “She shows a preference to play middle but she is also really great on the outside. Yara works hard to maintain the ability to play both positions so that she can deliver no matter where we need her on any given night.”
Along with Nassif’s production, the Wolverines also saw offense from Shea Farrell, who accumulated six aces and six kills on the night.
Murphy also gave credit to her two setters: Meghan Blue and Sara Cwieka, following the victory.
“Meghan and Sara had good nights offensively as well. They’ve really stepped up lately and gelled with the hitters to create some new offensive plays, and that was clearly the case late in the match as it helped us earn some crucial points and earn the W.”
At the time of printing, the Wolverines are looking to continue their winning ways against King Phillip (10/11) and Medfield (10/14).
