Boys volleyball: Cowboys play West Broward

BY HAILEY BROWN

The Cowboys were ready for their last game before spring break against one of their tougher opponents, West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines.

The Cowboys began their warm-ups by listening to music and mentally preparing. As the timer counted down to end warm-ups, the Cowboys gathered the balls and then circled around their coach to hear some final word before the game started.

On Thursday March 22, the Cowboys took on West Broward High School at Cooper City High School. Both teams fought hard for the win. The Cowboys were able to come back from being down by two sets and get two more wins to keep them in the game. The game went into five sets and was neck and neck for the last set. The Cowboys pushed through and won the last set to win them the game.

The Cowboys fought hard in the first set but were ultimately down for its entirety. West Broward was sending hard shots and making key blocks where they needed. The Cowboys did catch up towards the end and were able to end the first set only three points behind, with a score of 22-25.

The Cowboys still pushed and tried as hard as they could to keep up, but it wasn’t quite enough. With the Cowboys down a set and tired, they started to fall back. West Broward took advantage and took the win for the second set with a score of 20-25.

With West Broward ahead by two sets, they started to get comfortable and put in players that had not played. The Cowboys saw this as an opportunity to make a come back. The Cowboys stepped up their game and began to play as they usually did. Sam West had 10 kills throughout the game giving the Cowboys 10 point in their favor. The Cowboys kept pushing making kills and blocking or digging all shots that came. Dylan Zacca had 2 aces and 17 kills throughout the games, giving the Cowboys a total of 19 points. The Cowboys beat West Broward and won the third set 25-9.

Cooper City kept the momentum rolling, beating West Broward in the fourth set 25-21 and then in the last set 17-15 to take the win. Ian Espinosa had an astounding 53 digs throughout the game not allowing West Broward to score those 53 points.

“We never really gave up and kept pushing the whole game,” Adam Hartmann said. “The only thing that kept us in the game was our hearts.”

Final: Cooper City 3, West Broward 2

Photo by Lariat Photography