Photo Credit: Steve Aronson
By: Kofi Dadzie, Emma Grossman, and Connor Schoen
Westborough’s own girls’ volleyball team fought hard against Notre Dame Academy of Hingham last Saturday at Algonquin Regional High School. The Rangers showed a valiant effort in the five-set match at the Div. 2 State Final. There was never a dull moment in the thrilling match that lasted well over two hours and ended in only a three-point difference.
The Rangers did not come alone; a supportive fan base decked-out in all white showed up to cheer the team on and intensify the game. From seniors to freshmen, seemingly every WHS student was in attendance. Whenever the Rangers spiked the ball or made a great return, the sea of white went wild with screams and applause. With booming chants like “Let’s go Rangers!” and “I believe that we will win”, it was challenging to even hear the shouts from the person next to you.
Halfway through the first set, the gymnasium had simply ran out of seating for eager fans to watch the game. With painted faces and all-white outfits, committed Westborough fans filed in on the sidelines of the court to sit through the exciting game.
Sitting was a rarity among the crowd members though. After every battled-out point, the Rangers fans would bolt right up and scream, shout, clap, and do just about anything to make noise and motivate the girls to continue on. As Coach Anderson said at the pep rally on Friday, November 16, the crowd is vital to the victory of the team, and by cheering loud and at the right times, the fan-base can have a significant impact on the outcome of the game.
Although this fan support didn’t result in a victory, the team was not crushed in the slightest. In the first set, they came out hard but ended up losing by only five points. Their tenacity didn’t fade after their first loss though; it continued to bring them on many winning streaks and they claimed a victory in a 25-18 second set.
With the score tied-up entering the third set, the girls maintained their focus on the task at hand, but they were edged out by seven points in the end. Suffering from the one set deficit and the possibility of Notre Dame Academy taking the title, the team came out even stronger, but fell down by six points towards the end of the set. When all hope for the Rangers seemed lost, they found hope in the unbelievably loud Rangers fans that pushed their team to come back and narrowly win the fourth match 27-25.
Tensions ran very high across the Algonquin gymnasium at the beginning of the fifth and final set. With everything tied-up and a state championship title on the line, the pressure resonated through every audience and team member as both the Rangers and Cougars played as though their lives depended on it. During the final gut-wrenching match, the Rangers fans were louder than ever, blowing away the NDA chants from the back corner of the gym. There was not a single Westborough fan who wasn’t on their feet screaming at the top of their lungs during the entire final stretch of play.
This powerful energy took the Rangers chance of victory to the final points of their season where their power and talent were more evident than ever. Sprinting from side to side of the court while keeping both composure and form, they were able to stay alive until a final hard spike that left everyone diving on the ground to save. The final set ended with a 15-12 victory for the Cougars.
Despite their fail to return the ball and clinch the state title, the Rangers were more fierce and more persistent than ever. Even though the Rangers couldn’t pull off this win, they put on the best game they have played all season and everyone on the team was relentless until the final point. The pressure of the screaming NDA fans and the chance of state victory at stake never seemed to affect any of the Rangers who all displayed determination and teamwork throughout the entire match. The Rangers never stopped fighting for their shot at the gold, and thanks to every single Rangers fan who showed up to cheer them on, they didn’t disappoint.
