No. 2 Amherst held on in the third set and won its Western Mass. Class A quarterfinal contest against No. 7 Agawam in straight sets Tuesday night in Amherst.
Set scores were 25-10, 25-14, 25-21.
“I felt like we were playing really solid and in sync,” said Amherst head coach Kacey Schmitt. “We did not make a lot of unforced errors.”
The Hurricanes were impenetrable at the net, recording 13 total blocks in three sets. Delaney MacPhetres led the way with six blocks of her own, followed closely by Lauren Joy with five stuffs and Audrey Bowen with three.
“(We had) a lot of good blocking,” said Schmitt. “Between Claire, Audrey, Delaney, and Audrey, even if they don’t get credited for the block it changes the way the other team hits.”
MacPhetres also dominated the offense with five kills and Bowen and Nicole Lambert both posted four kills apiece. Annabel Ogden recorded 19 assists and Liza Beigel had six digs in the win.
Class C quarterfinals
Frontier 3, Renaissance 0 —No. 1 Frontier took down No. 8 Renaissance in straight sets (25-4, 25-7, 25-10) during the Class C quarterfinals of the Western Mass. tournament.
Serving aces was the name of the game for the Redhawks – the team posted a jaw-dropping 39 service aces on their way to their victory. Jillian Apanell and Sam Baker both served up nine aces apiece with teammate Aine Carey right behind them with eight.
Eve Dougan led the attack for the Redhawks with five kills and both Caroline Deane and Kate Demaio each added three kills apiece. Carey posted eight assists
Class A quarterfinals
No. 1 Westfield 3, No. 8 Holyoke 0 – The Purple Knights fell 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 to drop to a consolation game later in the week.
Central 2, Holyoke 1 — Central scored twice in the second half to earn a win against Holyoke after an own goal put them behind in the 29th minute.
Central netminder Asher Bowling made four saves in the win while Holyoke goalie Keegan Kukucka made five saves for the Purple Knights.