Mohawk Trail Regional High School had to battle for more than two hours in this one, but it was worth the effort.
The Warriors went toe to toe with Mahar for the second time in a week and had to go five sets before finally coming away with a 27-29, 26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9 PVIAC Northern Division girls’ volleyball victory over the Senators Wednesday night at the Grzesik-Bixby Complex in Orange.
Lexi Mazza had another solid performance for the Warriors (4-8 overall, 2-3 North) with 15 kills and 9 digs, while Olivia Dubrule was another key contributor with 8 kills, 6 digs and 2 aces.
Maeve Powell led the Senators (2-12, 2-4) with 11 digs, 4 kills, 3 blocks and an ace. Sophie Smith totaled 7 kills and 3 aces, Lauren Henne had 5 aces and 9 digs, and Aria Flematti added 9 assists and 7 aces.
“We played up and down,” said Mahar head coach Sarah Woodward. “We made a lot of hitting errors. When the sets are that close, there isn’t a lot of room for multiple errors. We will go back to the drawing board to continue to work on our play.
“Mohawk played really consistent,” she continued. “I give them a lot of credit for their energy and composure on the court.”
Turners 3, Pioneer 0 — Turners Falls High School won for the sixth time in its past eight matches and moved back over .500 overall with a 25-17, 25-17, 25-18 victory over Pioneer Valley Regional School in PVIAC Northern Division girls’ volleyball action Wednesday night at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.
Tess Hunter paced the Indians (7-6, 5-1 North) with 8 aces, 5 kills and 3 digs, while Sienna Dillensneider totaled 12 assists, 3 kills and 3 digs. Chloe Ellis finished with 6 kills, 2 digs and 1 ace, and Adrianna DiMiao chipped in with 12 digs.
“We missed 14 serves, which was not good, but I thought we played well overall,” said Indians head coach Kelly Liimatainen. “We passed really well and our hitters were able to do their jobs well.”
Caroline Merkle finished with 8 assists, 4 aces and 1 kill, Hanna Buedinger had 8 digs, 3 kills and 2 aces, and Lizzie Fuller contributed 3 kills, 5 digs and 2 aces for the Panthers (3-10, 1-5 North), who have lost two in a row.
Turners hosts Lee High School Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Lee 3, Frontier 2 — Lee survived Frontier Regional School’s early dominance and rallied from two sets down to beat the Red Hawks, 19-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 19-17, in an independent girls’ volleyball match Wednesday evening at Cinella Gymnasium in Lee.
The Wildcats (13-1), who haven’t lost since a season-opening, four-set loss to Berkshire County rival Mount Greylock Regional School, rode the efforts of Shenna Tyer (10 kills), Kendra Williams (23 assists), Anna Wang (15 digs) and Haleigh Richardson (8 kills) to establish themselves as the likely No. 1 seed in the Western Massachusetts Division III Tournament.
Ella Deane turned in an outstanding performance for the Red Hawks, recording 46 assists, 22 digs, 6 aces and 3 kills. Lauren Davenport collected a match-high 16 kills to go along with 21 digs and 2 aces,
Frontier (5-9), the 11-time defending WMass Division III champion, has lost seven of its last eight and is in danger of missing postseason play for the first time in head coach Sean MacDonald’s 14-year tenure and the first time overall since 1996.
Smith Academy 18½, Frontier 5½, — Smith Academy used three sweeps to roll to a 18½-5½ victory over previously unbeaten Frontier in an independent golf match Wednesday at the Country Club of Greenfield.
It was the first loss for the Red Hawks (10-1) under second-year head coach Bill Fitzpatrick.
Match medalist Daniel Cavanaugh (46), Cam Haley and Hunter Zygmont all swept 4 points for the Falcons (7-6), and Carter Woodward added 3½ points.
Kyle Spencer led Frontier with a 48 and 4 points.
Pathfinder 19, FC Tech 5 — Joe Conkey fired a 42 for medalist honors and swept 4 points to lead Pathfinder Vocational High School to a 19-5 independent golf win over Franklin County Technical School Wednesday at Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown.
Jack Moynihan also took 4 points for the Pioneers (4-10).
Mike Patnode shot a 47 and took 4 points for the short-handed Eagles (3-12), who forfeited the final two matches.