Volleyball: Westfield 3, Fairfax 0

By Angela Watts
Assistant General Manager, Washington D.C.

** Check below the story for a video player filled with interviews and dozens of highlights from Wednesday's match! **

Westfield Coach Jim Bour had no intention of keeping 16 girls on his varsity volleyball roster. It wasn't a plan, but rather, a necessity.

And it's worked out brilliantly.

Behind the commitment and leadership of nine seniors and a host of talented underclassmen, Westfield (8-4) has won six of its past eight matches, including Wednesday's 27-25, 25-20, 25-19 sweep of previously unbeaten Fairfax, an up-and-coming contender in the Concorde District.

One of Westfield's losses in that eight-match stretch was a tightly contested, 3-2 loss to defending Virginia AA state champion Loudoun County.

"It's one of those years that with the experience and the depth that we have we have a chance to be a very good team," said Bour, whose roster includes 12 girls from last year's varsity team. "Depth has always been a key for us, and this year I took the biggest team I've had in my six years here.

"There were nine seniors who have been in this program for four years and worked hard and kept playing and kept getting better. And I didn't plan to take all nine, but nine girls earned a spot with their commitment, and it shows out here. They love the school and love the program and they work hard. And that's a great place for us to start -- with nine seniors who show nothing but leadership and unselfishness.

"We came up a little short last year, but the girls are committed to turning that around."

At the forefront of the Bulldogs' charge are a trio of exceptional seniors: setter Kathleen Lanigan, middle blocker Kelly Murray and outside hitter Sammy Spees. Spees led Westfield against Fairfax, totaling a match-high 14 kills and 13 digs, while Murray added 12 kills -- with a hit percentage of .470 -- and Lanigan registered 32 assists.

Other notables for the Bulldogs Wednesday night included junior libero Clare Lanigan, who totaled 12 digs and a match-high five service aces, and junior outside hitter Emma Stewart, who added seven kills and an ace.

"We're going to enjoy tonight, because the Concorde District is just a bear, and we talked about that tonight prior to playing," Bour said. "When you play in the Concorde District, you have to battle every time out. We've very happy, and feel very fortunate, that this is one in our plus column.

"And that's all we're looking for: To put ourselves in the best possible position for the playoffs."

The loss for Fairfax was its first of the season for a group that is otherwise off to the best start in Rebel volleyball history.

Fairfax was led by senior standout outside hitter Theresa Harvey with a team-high 12 kills an 10 digs, and senior setter Nikki Wellington with 13 assists and a team-high 13 service points.

"We had Westfield in the first game, 23-21 ... we had it within our grasp," said Fairfax Coach Christine Zanellato, whose team is 10-1 on the season. "And I think if we had won that game, it would have been a totally different match. But what happens when you're not an experienced, winning team is that you tend to let down a little faster. And I think that happened a bit tonight.

"But the girls fought through it and hung in there, and I'm proud of that. These kids play real tough ball. They're not the tallest; not the biggest. But they just don't give up, and that's what I like most about the kids. We really had hoped to get a better turnout from this match -- we'd hoped to at least take a game from them. But we never gave up."

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com