Emotions were running high last night as the boys volleyball team took on the Maine West Warriors in their first game of the season.  Before play began, both teams paid their respects to the Maine West varsity player who passed away late last month.   Also, the Wolves wore light blue in support of their opponents.

As for the game, Niles West jumped out to an early 9-4 lead, but they seemed to be struggling to click offensively, especially with their spikes.  Although the Wolves came out on top for the first set, there was still major room for improvement.  Eventually, Maine West’s woes regarding their serves led to their downfall in the first set, seeing as they outright missed many of them, or they were easily turned against them on the Wolves side of the net.  The final score of the first set ended up to be 25-19.

For the first few plays of the second sets, it looked as though the tides had turned in the Warrior’s favor, since they quickly jumped out to a 0-4 lead; however, this was mostly due to our own mistakes.

When senior Alvin Lee began serving, the Wolves finally started to find their groove, tying it up at 4-4 and eventually pulling away thanks to the kills of senior Nathan Celinski.  As the second set went on, Maine West’s serving woes continued, and Niles West won the set 24-16, winning the game overall.

According to head coach Andrew Roche, the Wolves were a little rough, but it was enough for the win.

“There were definitely some nerves in this game, but that’s what we expected.  A lot of guys were getting their first varsity start, but I thought they played well.  Obviously, Maine West was dealing with a lot of emotions, since one of their players passed away right before tryouts, but in the end, we turned out to be the better team.  I’m not happy with the team’s performance, but I’m satisfied.  We could’ve played better,” said Roche

The next home game is Tuesday, April 3 when the Wolves take on the Niles North Vikings.