The boys’ volleyball team took on the Waukegan Bulldogs at home Thursday, April 19. One thing that must be understood about the Bulldogs is that they fight back, hard.

For both sets of the varsity match, Waukegan and Niles West were neck-in-neck during each game. Niles West emerged victorious as they won both games with scores of 25-23 and 25-21, respectively.

The game started off great, with the Wolves leading by a few points. Waukegan, came back to put themselves in the lead. The teams battled back and forth, trading leads until the wolves won the first set by two.

The final point was controversial enough that Waukegan Head Coach Rachel Wiatrowski, protested the call adamantly.

The second set was proceeded the same as the first, with the Wolves and Bulldogs scoring amazing point after amazing point, and trading the lead back and forth.

Seniors Dange Gillespie and Nathan Celinski both had jaw-dropping kills in the second half of the game, scoring a good amount of the Wolves points between themselves. West eventually won the second set 25-21 on the heels of the great play of Gillespie and Celinski.

Even after an impressive win, head coach Andrew Roche still saw room for improvement in the team.

“The result was that we won, although I’m not excited with how we won. The boys need to play as a team. On the court, there are six players and they must all work as one,” said Roche post-game.

Come cheer on the varsity boys tonight as they host the Downers South Invite at 5 p.m. in the Contest Gym.