The Frontier volleyball team is seeking its astounding 16th consecutive Western Mass. title on Saturday, though this title run feels different than the rest.
Usual rival Lee was slotted in Class D, and the Redhawks have been placed in Class C under the new Western Mass. tournament realignment. Frontier met the Wildcats in the Div. 3 title match from 2015-2019, and while the Redhawks were victorious in each of the matchups, it made for a classic rivalry that won’t happen this time around.
Instead, top-seeded Frontier (16-4) will square off with No. 3 Southwick (17-3) on Saturday for the Class D title, set for 3 p.m. at West Springfield High School.
“You try to control the things you can control and we’re playing the teams they tell us to play,” Redhawks coach Sean MacDonald said. “The reason they wanted a Western Mass. tournament was to keep the rivalries alive. Outside of Class A in volleyball, you’re missing them. Lee, Turners and Mt. Greylock are all in Class D. I feel like you have to go through those three teams for a title. I hope they look at it and make some tweaks.”
Frontier has cruised to the finals, beating No. 8 Renaissance 3-0 in the quarterfinals and pulling away with a 3-0 sweep against No. 5 Sabis in the semifinals.
It might seem like an expectation that the Redhawks will be in the Western Mass. title match each year, but the players understand all the work that is required in order to keep the dynasty rolling.
“Everybody starts at the bottom and everyone works to get to the top,” senior Tia Gottschalk said. “All the girls here have put in a ton of work and I think we earned our spot at the top of Western Mass. Hopefully going forward we can earn that spot even more. I’m excited to keep playing and we want to keep this season going as long as possible.”
The Rams enter Saturday’s showdown having won five of their last six matches. They behind Easthampton 2-0 in the semifinals but fought back to earn a come-from-behind 3-2 victory, punching a ticket to play Frontier in Saturday’s final.
The Redhawks haven’t played Southwick since 2016, meaning they’re focused on what they need to do against an opponent they know little about.
“They’re a relatively new program,” MacDonald said. “Their coach [Kaitlyn Anthony] is doing a nice job and has them ready to play. I don’t know a lot about them because we don’t play them much. Regardless of the opponent, we need to focus on the things we need to do on our side of the net. If we serve and pass, we’ll be tough. If we pass, we have plenty of hitters who can put the ball down and a setter who can get the ball where it needs to go.”
Frontier entered postseason play on the right foot. The Redhawks have won 10-of-11 matches heading into Saturday’s championship, with the lone loss coming to Melrose, an Eastern Mass. powerhouse.
The final match of the regular season against Westfield saw Frontier come back from a 22-13 deficit in the third set to pull out a 26-24 win, securing a 3-0 sweep of the Bombers. That should give the Redhawks extra confidence heading into the postseason.
“We played really well against Westfield on senior night,” MacDonald said. “We’re still making a few tweaks here and there with lineups and positions. We’re just trying to make ourselves better.”
For a lot of the Frontier players, playing in this Western Mass. tournament has been their first taste of postseason action. With no postseason last year and the Redhawks graduating eight seniors a year ago, many of this year’s crop of players hadn’t been exposed to high pressure tournament matches.
Getting that experience will hopefully pay dividends for years to come.
“I’m nervous going in because it’s been a while since we played in a real tournament,” Frontier junior Jillian Apanell said. “I’m excited to see what this new group of girls can do in a high stress tournament setting. It feels good to win the last couple games. It’s new for this group of girls who haven’t had this environment. It’s cool to get in a setting like this and see what we can do.”
The Amherst Regional girls volleyball team will face Longmeadow for the third time this season when the second-seeded Hurricanes play the No. 4 Lancers for the Class B championship at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at West Springfield. The match will follow the Frontier-Southwick Class C contest.
Amherst won the previous two Eastern league matches 3-0 at home to start the season and 3-1 on the road in late September. The Hurricanes are playing for their 14th sectional crown but first since 2016. Longmeadow last claimed the title in 2015, the Lancers’ eighth championship. They won seven in a row from 2007-13.
The Hurricanes (16-4) have relied on a balanced attack this season. Delaney MacPhetres leads the team with 125 kills, while Audrey Bowen has added 104 and Nicole Lambert 91.
Annabel Ogden has expertly directed the offense as a sophomore setter and leads Amherst with 78 aces. Sophomore Liza Beigel holds down the libero spot and has pulled up 232 digs.
“I would say that this season has exceeded my expectations, which is always so wonderful,” Amherst coach Kacey Schmitt said after Thursday’s semifinal win over Chicopee Comp. “They’ve come together so well as a team. To make it to the finals with this group, especially this wonderful group of seniors, having gone through what they went through last year, it’s just a big bonus. They deserve it.”
Longmeadow (9-8) ended the regular season on a three-match losing streak but bounced back in the sectional tournament with wins over Minnechaug and No. 1 seed Westfield.
Senior Laura Griffiths stands out with 195 kills, while Anna Gorfinkle has 122 kills and 225 digs.