After the Chaps dropped the second set of Tuesday’s nondistrict meeting with scrappy Cedar Park, Westlake senior captain Kenzie Hume knew that the team needed a mental check.

But it wasn’t Westlake’s collective brain she wanted to crawl into.

“In that third game, we had to come out with a little more intensity,” said the middle blocker. “We needed to get some blocks, because we needed to get inside their hitters’ heads and intimidate them a little.”

Hume and her teammates accomplished that goal in a 25-21, 19-25, 25-10, 25-12 win at Westlake High School. According to Chap coach Al Bennett, the lopsided scores in the final two sets reflected his team’s determination to own the net.

“Kenzie and Hannah [Baptiste] took over the match,” he said. “They dominated at the net after that second game, and they started blocking a lot of shots. When you do that, it makes things easier for everyone.”

Hume and Baptiste combined for eight of Westlake’s 11 blocks. Two of Hume’s stuffs came at a most opportune time: With Cedar Park still buzzing from the excitement of winning game two, Hume opened the third stanza with consecutive blocks and a kill.

By the time the lass 4A Timberwolves slowed that momentum, they faced a 10-3 deficit that proved too deep to overcome.

According to Hume, her early run of points in that third set was nothing less than her responsibility.

“I do think the seniors need to rise to the occasion when needed,” she said. “That’s what I tried to do tonight.”

Erin Bula and Hannah Hood helped put the game away with impressive offensive showings. Bula, a 6-foot-2-inch junior outside hitter, had five of her six aces in the final two games. She also tallied a dozen kills.

Hood, a 5-11 senior outside hitter, fired away for seven of her 12 kills in the final set.

Paige Caridi ended the match with eight kills for the Chaps (26-2), and Baptiste added seven kills along with her stout defense at the net.

Although Cedar Park accumulated just 13 kills in the final two sets, the team had enough firepower to threaten the Chaps in the first half of the match. The Timberwolves reeled off an 8-4 run to close within 22-21 in the first set before Hume sandwiched a kill and a block around a Cedar Park hitting error.

In the second frame, Delaney Forsythe had five her team-high 11 kills to help the Timberwolves to a 6-0 run that sealed the set.

Bennett took some of the blame for the Chaps’ slow start, saying that five days off contributed to the rust.

“We would have been in a world of trouble if we had dropped that first set,” Bennett said. “We hadn’t practiced since Thursday, and it showed, but the girls needed the rest. We’ve played a lot of matches this year already. We got better as this match went on.”