WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Amherst Regional girls’ volleyball team defeated West Springfield 3-2 in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 first round game on the road Thursday. The set scores were 24-26, 25-15, 17-25, 25-13, 25-12.
Amherst (10-9), the No. 9 seed, will face top-seeded Westfield at 5 p.m. Monday in the quarterfinals.
The Hurricanes got out to a strong start, leading 4-0 early. Amherst stretched its lead to 14-8, forcing West Springfield to take a timeout. The Terriers fought back after the timeout, eventually winning the first set 26-24.
Despite losing the first set, Amherst responded. After a competitive start to the second set, it broke out to a 23-15 lead, forcing West Springfield to burn another timeout. The Hurricanes finished the set on a 9-2 scoring run to tie the match at one set each.
“I just told them we had a lot of match left to play,” Amherst coach Kacey Schmitt said. “I was really proud of the way they stayed focused and stayed positive no matter what was going on in the match, and I think for a young team that’s a very valuable asset.”
West Springfield answered back in the next set. Leading 16-12 late in the set, West Springfield forced two timeouts from Amherst on the way to a 25-17 win.
However, Amherst was not fazed by the deficit. Nicole Lambert, playing in her first varsity season amassed 19 digs, eigth aces and five kills.
“We were down at it a couple times, and in the second set and in the fourth set, we really picked up the energy,” she said.
Amherst built off its energy and picked up their play in the fourth set. The Hurricanes started out with a 15-5 lead and wouldn’t turn back, winning 25-13 to take the lead.
In a competitive fifth set, Amherst pulled away to grab a 15-12 victory.
Olivia Hogans led the way with 11 kills.
“You know it’s an interesting year for me because I lost a lot. I lost two All-state players last year, I lost a lot of really experienced players,” Schmitt said. “A lot of trying to figure out what everyone can do and where we worked best as a lineup.”
Through their strong team chemistry and development over the course of the season, sophomore setter Amelia Biegel (33 assists, 18 digs) was thrilled to see it all come together.
“At the beginning of the season we were just scrambling for balls and not as coordinated,” she said. “We didn’t really know each other as a team, and to see how far we’ve come and how we’re kind of like a big family.”