MONTAGUE — The Franklin Tech girls volleyball team survived a feisty Greenfield squad in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 matchup in Montague on Friday night, winning 3-1. The Eagles (12-5) won sets one, three and four 25-12, 25-18 and 25-20, respectively. The Green Wave’s (8-9) lone set win was set two, winning 25-23.
Franklin Tech came into the matchup ranked No. 8 in Div. 5, while Greenfield was ranked No. 25. The playoff match acted as an impromptu rubber match between the two schools, with Franklin Tech beating Greenfield in four sets on Oct. 13, while the Green Wave pulled off the upset against the Eagles in five sets two weeks prior.
The latter three sets in the match were highly competitive, with Greenfield and Franklin Tech each taking turns with the lead. In both set two and set four, each team held the lead three times. Set three, while not seeing many lead changes, was evenly matched. Franklin Tech jumped out to a 20-12 lead, before the Green Wave rattled off six consecutive points. The final five points of the set went to the Eagles.
“I saw fight and grit,” Franklin Tech head coach Jade Cuevas said. “At times we definitely laxed a bit, and then we couldn’t communicate or move our feet. We have a lot of work to do heading into the next round, that’s for sure.”
Tech’s Laura Fuess tries for a kill vs Greenfield in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Amy Mihailicenco digs the ball vs Tech in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Bianca Reynolds returns a volley vs Tech in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Tech’s Emma Petersen hits vs Greenfield in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Yerializ Collado Bonilla sets the balls vs Tech in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Yerializ Collado Bonilla tries to block Tech’s Sarah Beckwith’s shot in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Bianca Reynolds defends Tech’s Charley Knight’s shot in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Elizabeth Derivolkova hits the balls vs Tech in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Isabella Disciullo hits the ball over the net vs Tech in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Tech’s Lily Baldwin digs the ball vs Greenfield in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Tech’s Sarah Beckwith’s hit is defended by Greenfield’s Amy Mihailicenco in Montague Thursday. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo
Tech’s Sarah Beckwith led the way for the Eagles with 18 kills, 11 digs and five aces over the four sets, all of which led the team. Not too far behind Beckwith in digs for Franklin Tech was three players with nine, those being Lily Baldwin, Janiylah Wan and Emma Petersen, the last of which led the team in blocks with 8.
Setter Charley Knight led the Eagles in assists with 28.
“[One] positive is that [in] a couple sets we attacked really well, we really fought for it and wanted the ball and executed,” Cuevas said. “Negatives, it’s still communication and moving our feet, and all the fundamentals that sometime we get lax about.”
The first set of the night was all Franklin Tech, as the home team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Following the first set, Greenfield head coach Kristine Given, acknowledging that it felt weird coaching against the Eagles as she had played for them two years ago, said she reminded her team that they had beaten Franklin Tech before.
In that second set, down 22-19, the Green Wave scored six points to the Eagles one, winning 25-23.
“They were a little slow at first, but that’s kind of typical for us,” Given said on the first set. “But they really fought for it. They showed up with their A-game, and they talked and they fought as a team. They did the best they could, and I’m super proud of them. … The message was ‘We beat Tech, and we could do it again.’ Sometimes, you just don’t have it for the games, but they fought with everything they had for this.”
Amy Mihailicenco (nine digs, six kills, five aces) and Bianca Reynolds (five digs, kill, three aces, two assists) played well for Greenfield.
Franklin Tech moves on to the Round of 16, the round in which it lost last year against Lenox. The Eagles wait for the result of Friday night’s game between Madison Park Technical Vocational and Tech Boston Academy to see who their opponent in the Round of 16 will be.
Mohawk 3, Argosy 1 — The No. 29 Warriors advanced to the Round of 32 after rattling off three straight set victories in its Div. 5 preliminary round win on Thursday.
Set scores read 25-27, 25-16, 25-12, 25-17 in favor of Mohawk, who will take on No. 4 Saint John Paul II on Friday.
Emmalee Inmann (13 service points, seven aces, 21 kills, two blocks) and Maddie Finn (13 service points, three aces, seven assists and eight digs) were crucial in the Warriors’ win.
Salem Academy Charter 3, Turners Falls 0 — The Thunder were silenced in its Div. 5 preliminary round defeat, ending their season.
Jakhia Williams (seven kills) and Abby Moffatt (16 digs) played well for No. 30 Turners Falls, which concluded the season at 7-12.
Athol 3, Brooke Charter 0 — The No. 27 Bears shut out the visitors in their Div. 4 preliminary round win.
Giana Vaillancourt paced the attack with 10 kills, while Ella Reed totaled seven assists for Athol, which will travel to No. 6 Nipmuc Regional on Friday in the Round of 32.
Set scores came out to 25-22, 25-11, 25-17.
State field hockey
Frontier 6, Littleon 0 — The third-seeded Redhawks kicked off its state tournament with a bang, shutting out the No. 30 Tigers in the Div. 4 Round of 32.
Addie Harrington’s hat trick energized the offense, while Michaela Sloan (two goals, assist) and Elsa Brown were Frontier’s other multi-point getters.
Brooke Charest didn’t record a save in goal for the Redhawks.
Frontier will host No. 19 Saint John Paul II next on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Hopedale 10, Greenfield 0 — The Green Wave were outmatched in their season-ending defeat in the Div. 4 Round of 32.
Greenfield finished the season 3-13-2.
Consolation football
Smith Vocational 28, Greenfield 24 — The Green Wave suffered their sixth defeat of the season in the close loss to the Vikings at Vets’ Field.
Mahar 33, Chicopee 0 — Harry Doody’s 93-yard rushing touchdown highlighted the Senators’ big win over the Pacers.
Carter Hardy added three scores from the ground plus a 40-yard reception touchdown from Freeland Ringer.
Ringer also contributed a pair of interceptions on defense .
Athol 32, Ludlow 6 — The Bears notched their first win of the season in the road victory over the Lions.
Wednesday results
State field hockey
Triton Regional 2, Mohawk 1 — The 33rd-seeded Warriors took a 1-0 lead into the fourth quarter against the No. 32 Vikings, but couldn’t quite hold on as two fourth-quarter goals ended their season in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 4 state tournament in Byfield. Molly Ross scored on an assist from Heidi Helenek in the first quarter for Mohawk. Brynlee Purington made four saves for the Warriors.
Wilmington 2, Franklin Tech 0 — The 35th-seeded Eagles couldn’t survive a road match up with No. 33 Wilmington in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 3 state tournament. Redyn Gutierrez stopped eight shots for Franklin Tech.
