SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley girls volleyball team made it to the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament for the second consecutive year, but just like the previous one were eliminated by a score of 3-2.
This time, the fourth-seeded Tigers were defeated by No. 5 Lenox in the quarterfinal round. Last year, Sabis knocked the Tigers out in the first round.
The Millionaire came back from a 2-1 deficit to win 27-25, 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11.
“We want our players to know how to come back from a big fall and they showed that today perfectly,” said Lenox coach Bessena Cabe.
Lenox will face the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal match between No. 1 Lee (18-2) and No. 8 Sabis (10-10). The semifinal match will be held Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Ana Lynch and Morgan Levesque reached milestones for Lenox during the contest. Lynch reached a career total of 500 digs, while Levesque collected her 1,000th assist.
Levesque paved the way to victory by gathering 46 assists and three kills. Bombee Lahart notched 12 kills.
Kiana Turner was fantastic for the Tigers with six aces, 17 kills, 17 digs and two saves.
Turner celebrated each point by throwing her hands in the air while spinning. Coach Corey Koske said, “She has the best celebrations.”
Morgan Adams collected 26 assists. Kaylyn Lebrecque blocked eight shots.
The Tigers finished the season with a 14-5 record.
“Just because we didn’t finish the season with a win,” said Koske, “doesn’t mean we didn’t reach some of our goals.”
South Hadley will have a lot of holes to fill next season as Morgan Adams, Olivia Footit, Alyssa Ippolito, Kayleigh Jagodowski, Mikayla Kelly and Labrecque all played their final game as a Tiger.
“Our seniors have been the core of this team for several years,” said Koske. “To not see them back next year is going to hurt.”
Turner is looking forward to next season.
“We’ll be great as long as we work hard and practice hard,” said Turner.