The fall season ended abruptly for the Frontier Regional volleyball team on Thursday night. The 14th-seeded Red Hawks lost, 3-0, to visiting No. 19 Millbury in the Round of 32 of the Division 4 statewide tournament at Goodnow Gymnasium.
Set scores were 25-11, 25-19 and 25-19.
“Truthfully, just now showing up and playing like we wanted to be here,” Frontier coach Courtney Parent said. “That’s what it felt like.”
Middle hitter Amaya Brooks gave the Red Hawks problems throughout the match.
“She was great at the net,” Parent said. “They showed up to play tonight. They served well. They fought for every last point. It just wasn’t our night unfortunately. Kudos to them. They showed up like they wanted to win and they did.”
Unforced errors plagued the Red Hawks, especially late in sets. In the first two sets, Frontier had early leads but the advantage slowly whittled away as the miscues mounted. Frontier also shuffled its lineup with starting libero Kaelyn Johnston missing the match with an illness. Many players on this year’s roster did not have a lot of varsity experience. Then, all of a sudden, they were thrust into state tournament game.
“It’s new and it’s different for them,” Parent said. “We knew going into the season it was going to be a rebuild year. But I am still proud of what we put forward this year. I am really looking forward to the future. These young girls are going to be something special. I am sad my seniors couldn’t make it farther.”
Morgan Mason, Caitlin Maio, Greta Hale and Cadence Martin played their last match for the program.
“I’ve appreciated all of it,” Hale said. “Every year you make new friends. New people come up and different people leave. It’s been a great experience. I love them all. I am proud of all of them”
Hale had 10 kills and 10 digs for the Red Hawks. Martin played set up with 14 assists and added 15 digs. Maio and Mason chipped in with 11 and 17 digs, respectively.
Avon 3, Turners Falls 0 – The 14th-seeded Thunder lost to No. 19 Avon at home in the Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday.
Set scores were 25-21, 25-18 and 25-21.
Maddie Haight had five aces, two kills and 11 assists for the Thunder. Addison Talbot led the defense with 11 digs and added two kills.
Jakiah Williams chipped in with seven kills and two blocks for the Thunder.
Pioneer Valley Regional 3, Muniz Academy 2 – The Pioneers advanced in a five-set thriller in the Division 5 preliminary round at home on Thursday. After losing a two set lead, the Panthers closed out the visitors from Jamaica Plain.
Set scores were 25-10, 25-8, 16-25, 24-26 and 15-9. The 31st-seeded Panthers got 17 kills and 15 digs from Jacobia Tyminski.
Pioneer advances to play No. 2 Madison Park Technical on the road on Saturday. Kiara Gruszkowski held down the defensive side with 23 digs and also added 10 assists. Evangeline Lewis also had 23 digs for the Panthers.
Sophia Wood played set up with 23 assists, adding six kills, five blocks and nine digs. Greta Lewis (13 digs), Lana Gagnon (14 digs) and Corrie Glenn (19 digs) also played a big part on defense. Abbie Ray chipped in with three kills, three blocks, two digs and an ace.
Lee 3, Greenfield 0 – The 22nd-seeded Green Wave lost in the Berkshires to the 11th-seeded Wildcats in the Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday.
Set scores were 25-19, 25-23 and 25-14.
Mahar 3, Southbridge 1 – After dropping the first set, the Senators won three straight to secure the state tournament win at home on Thursday.
Set scores were 21-25, 25-15, 25-12 and 25-23. Madelynn Burgess had 12 assists with five aces and five kills. Mia Santana led the defense with 13 digs. Hayden Comeau was the utility player with eight digs, six kills and five aces.
The Senators advance to the Round of 16 and will play the winner of No. 2 Madison Park and No. 31 Pioneer in the Division 5 bracket.
Charlestown 3, Granby 2 – The No. 37 Rams fell in a Division 5 preliminary match on the road to 28th-ranked Charlestown on Thursday.
Minuteman Regional 3, Easthampton 2 – The No. 31 Eagles dropped a five set match in a preliminary match up on the road to the 34th-ranked Mustangs in the Division 4 statewide bracket on Thursday.
Set scores were 25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 25-18 and 15-12. Brooke Skowron had nine assists for the Eagles while Kaylin Dumas converted six kills.
FIELD HOCKEY
Bellingham 4, Franklin Tech 0 – The Eagles (10-9-1) closed out their season with a road loss in the preliminary round of the Division 3 statewide field hockey tournament on Thursday.