FITCHBURG — Another undefeated team with state championship aspirations got its crack at Frontier Regional Wednesday night.
And as the script has gone so often over the past two decades, the Red Hawks did not author a pleasant introduction.
Frontier moved one step away from a potential ninth state title with a dominant performance. Four days removed from a 13th consecutive Western Massachusetts Division 3 championship, the Red Hawks swept Notre Dame of Tyngsborough 25-14, 25-14, 25-17 in the state semifinals at Fitchburg High School.
“We’ve started playing a little better the last couple of weeks,” Frontier coach Sean MacDonald said. “It’s a nice time to do it.”
Frontier (16-6) advanced to the title match for the eighth consecutive season. The Red Hawks will meet South champion Bourne (25-2) Saturday at Worcester State University. A time a yet to be determined.
Notre Dame finished 23-1.
Lauren Davenport put down 19 kills to go with just two errors for the Red Hawks. Selayna Bathurst managed 12 kills and 16 digs, while senior setter Ella Deane dished out 37 assists.
Davenport “really came out strong and found that groove,” Deane said. “It was so exciting to see her driving balls to the floor. They weren’t even touching them (defensively).”
MacDonald was impressed with the play of his team’s kill-leader.
“Davenport had a really nice night,” he said. “She was hitting hard and hitting in, and that was a tough combo for NDA.”
Notre Dame was playing in the state semifinals for the first time since 2009.
Davenport wasted little time in exerting her dominance on the left side of the floor. The junior outside hitter slammed down balls with authority, taking feeds from Deane and overwhelming the Lancers’ back row.
“You always want to make a point,” Davenport said. “I thought we had a really good showing against a team we’ve never played before.”
Davenport amassed eight kills and an ace in the opening stanza. At one point, Davenport put down four kills in a five-point span, pushing the advantage to 12-5 and forcing the first Notre Dame timeout.
Hailey Orloski (three kills) mixed in a kill and Ashley Telega (six kills) added a block, but it was Davenport who put down game point with another thunderous kill.
The second set saw the full arsenal of Frontier offensive weapons get into the mix. Davenport smacked three kills early to stake the team to an 8-7 advantage.
From there, Orloski, Telega and Bathurst put down kills to make it 20-13 and force another Notre Dame timeout. The success was infectious as a Sarah Zoly service run that featured an ace extended the lead to 24-14. The Lancers couldn’t track down a loose ball on game point, putting Frontier one set away from a sweep.
The Hawks left no doubt in the third frame. A Davenport kill made it 10-4, while a Bathurst kill and a Telega block had Frontier smelling the finish line up 18-7.
Notre Dame rallied late with five straight points, but Frontier’s lead proved too big.
“It’s really interesting and exciting to play a new team,” Deane said. “We focused on specific players of theirs. They do a lot of tipping plays so we changed some things around defensively to try and slow that down.”