The fourth-seeded Frontier Regional girls volleyball team took down fifth-ranked South Hadley, 3-0, in the quarterfinal round of the Western Massachusetts Class B tournament at Goodnow Gym on Monday.
The sweep counted as the Red Hawks’ third consecutive win — a season high — as Frontier appears to be clicking at the point in the year when results matter the most.
“After our game against Chicopee Comp last week, I said to them, ‘we have two strikes left,'” Frontier head coach Courtney Parent said. “Meaning, if we lose in Western Mass. [tournament], we still have state’s [tournament], but then once we lose in state’s, we’re done. We got to take those two strikes seriously, because that could be the end of our season and that’s not what we want.”
The Red Hawks swarmed the Tigers during the early portions of each set, building multi-point leads quickly. South Hadley would eventually find a rhythm as each set progressed, but by then, victory was already within Frontier’s grasp.
“We struggled to fight early and take the lead early,” Tigers head coach Brooke Conner said. “We’re definitely a team that likes to be up early and stay up the whole set and finish strong that way.”
Frontier advanced to the semifinal round via set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-14.
Morgan Mason (eight kills) and Cadence Martin (18 assists, 14 digs) were two of the Red Hawks’ top performers, according to Parent.
“Morgan Mason hit really well tonight,” Parent said. “That’s a swing from her I haven’t seen, so she stood out. Cadence Martin always sets up our offense really well.”
South Hadley saw strong games from Grace Matyszewski (17 digs) and Sam Murphy (team-high three kills).
“I am proud of my team’s growth this season and the respect they have for the game of volleyball,” Conner said. “I know I can count on them to show up at practice ready to put in the work for our next game. We’re not done yet.”
The Red Hawks (7-11) will face off against the No. 1 seed East Longmeadow Spartans in the Class B semifinal on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Tigers (10-7) await their seed and opponent in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament.
Class C Tournament
No. 5 Franklin Tech 3, No. 4 Mahar 0 — The Eagles brought down the higher-ranked Senators in Monday’s quarterfinal-round victory.
Emma Petersen (three aces, four kills, four digs, three blocks), Lily Baldwin (ace, seven digs, 18 assists) and Sarah Beckwith (three aces, nine kills, nine digs, assist, block) lifted Tech over the top.
Set scores were 25-23, 25-23 and 25-14.
Madelynn Burgess (five kills, 10 aces, three assists) was stellar for Mahar.
Non-Playoff Game
Athol 3, Pittsfield 2 — The Bears rallied from down 2-1 in sets to snatch the win against the Generals.
Set scores came in at 25-10, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8.
Athol’s Giana Vaillancourt led the team in kills (seven) and assists (nine), while Aby Spooner had the most digs (17).
REGULAR SEASON GAMES
Girls soccer
Easthampton 1, Frontier 0 — The Eagles earned a big, non-league win over the Red Hawks.
Arie Kuchyt contributed Easthampton’s only goal, while goalie Nory Ryan recorded an eight-save shutout.
Frontier goalie Jazzy Hayes had four saves.
Pioneer 4, Mahar 1 — The Panthers went 2-0 against their Bi-County league counterpart this season after Monday’s triumph.
Maddie Keefe highlighted Pioneer’s offense with two goals and an assist. Dzelila Cecunjanin and Deveney Pillsbury scored for the victors too.
“In cold and rainy conditions, the girls demonstrated they could do it against a tough, physical opponent in a challenging environment,” Panthers coach Matt Killeen said.
Boys soccer
South Hadley 5, Franklin Tech 0 — Multi-point outings from Matt Gillis, Ben Gillis and Ati Alatalo pushed the Tigers past the Eagles.
Alatalo attained two goals, while Matt and Ben Gillis each garnered a goal and assist.
South Hadley’s Noah Carillon got the shutout with four saves.
Field hockey
Franklin Tech 4, Mahar 0 — Amelia Rider’s big game powered the Eagles past the Senators.
Rider registered two goals and an assist as Tech closed out the regular season winners of six of eight.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Boys soccer
Easthampton 4, Greenfield 1 — Four different goal scorers found the back of the net for the Eagles.
Grady Cerruti, Anthony Incampo, Lucas Federov-Defalco and Jude Pratt-Miranda tickled the twine for Easthampton. Incampo and Federov-Defalco’s goals each came from penalty-kick opportunities.
Liam Grahame-Lawson was busy in between the pipes for the Green Wave, making 15 saves in the loss.
Jack Laurie had Greenfield’s goal.