The Westport volleyball team overcame first set jitters to dominate Cape Cod Tech, 3-1 (14-25, 25-17, 26-6, 25-22) in a home playoff game on Friday night. The win moves the Wildcats into the round of 16 to play Turner Falls in a home match on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

“I just told the girls that’s not Westport volleyball,” said Wildcats head coach Mike King of the first set loss. “We didn’t play the way we should have and we needed to clean things up. The team responded in a positive manner and took the next three sets to seal the match.”

Captains Abby Gaudreau, Kyleigh Finglas and Paige Churchill led the team in the victory in the old high school gym packed full of fans, parents and the pep band led by director Chris Nunes. 

Gaudreau, the Wildcats setter, smashed thirteen aces during the game and had eighteen service points and fourteen assists. “Abby has been phenomenal all season,” said Coach King. 

During the season Gaudreau reached a milestone of 1000 career assists. “It’s a huge number,” said Coach King. “Abby is very consistent, and tonight she had an excellent night at the service line.”

Finglas, a junior hitter, slammed six kills, bashed seven aces and had sixteen service points. 

“Kyleigh has emerged as a hitting threat throughout the season,” Coach King said. “She is a six position player and has done a wonderful job on both offensive and defensive. She shines at the net where she can put down ten to fifteen kills at any time.”

Churchill, the Wildcats senior libero, recorded six digs, defensively, with three aces and ten service points. Churchill the team’s defensive specialist, has been one of the best at her position for the last three seasons, according to coach King. “Paige had a great service day today and defensively was able to dig out some solid hits from Cape Cod Tech.”

Cape Cod Tech has improved 

“We weren’t ready for how good Cape Cod Tech was,” said Coach King. “That team has improved so much since we saw them last season in fall 2. It was a bit of a surprise.”