EASTHAMPTON — No. 24 Easthampton got off to a hot start against No. 41 Pioneer Charter School of Science II in the preliminary round of Division 5 State tournament play, and didn’t look back all game.
The Eagles won in straight sets, 25-6, 25-8, 25-14, dominating at the service line and keeping the pressure on Pioneer Charter all evening. Libero Skylar Raskevitz led the way with eight aces, along with a team-best nine digs, while senior Rina Damon finished close behind with six aces and five digs. Setters Delima Fournier and Erin Teague split time on the court, finishing with seven and four assists, respectively. Senior Marlina Devine and junior Maggie Barr co-lead the team with three kills apiece.
For a volleyball program that’s still growing, the postseason experience was meaningful to the Eagles. The team has never formally been in the state tournament; they’ve never advanced out of the Western Mass tournament, and it took the change of format this year for them to get their first ‘official’ taste of states.
“I think that the state tournament is very new to us, so we didn’t really know what to expect. We played super competitive, although it gets a little hard,” Raskevitz said. “But I think we stayed true to who we are while we’re playing. We stayed positive, we stayed energized, and we came up with a big win.”
Easthampton takes the final set and advances to the next round of the Division 5 state tournament. #DHGSports pic.twitter.com/cW2lLzuCmg
— Hannah Bevis (@Hannah_Bevis1) November 3, 2021
After Pioneer Charter failed to crack double-digits in the first two sets, head coach Molly Jacobson did some roster shuffling, pulling out her starting players to substitute almost an entirely new group of younger players for the third set.
“I was confident that we were going to get the victory, and I wanted some of my non-seniors to get some, not just playing time, but tournament experience,” Jacobson said. “So I thought that that would be kind of good for them.”
It was a big stage for the younger players to step into, especially since some of them hadn’t played in a game yet all season, said Raskevitz.
“I know the confusion,” said the senior, who’s been on the varsity roster for four years. “When I joined, I didn’t know where I was going, what I was doing. And I know it can be very hard when you don’t play in games prior … having your first game being a state tournament is a lot of pressure. So I was just trying to ease their nerves as much as I could.”
But though there may have been some nerves, the Eagles were able to keep control of the entire match, though Pioneer Charter did keep them on their toes during the beginning of the second and third sets. And while the younger players closed out Easthampton’s first state tournament win, it was the seniors that Jacobson wanted to focus on during this particular game.
“I started my seniors, considering that this is going to be our last night here in our home gym. So I said, let’s do one more for the seniors,” Jacobson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the group of seniors I have, just their commitment to this whole program over the past four years, and the heart that all of them demonstrate every day at practice.”
One of those seniors, Raskevitz, was especially impressive in Easthampton’s win; the senior is just 10 digs away from 1,000 career digs at Easthampton, and she makes every one of those passes count on the court.
“Our team wouldn’t be who we are without Skylar Raskevitz. She’s just always there,” Jacobson said. “You can’t get a hit without a pass. And she makes that pass happen every time.”
Most of the time, Raskevitz is passing to senior setter Fournier, who Jacobson also praised for her calm and cool play against Pioneer Charter.
“(She) has just been so consistent and been a huge heart on this team the whole entire season. She, most of the time, maintains a really positive attitude along with Skylar, and she just makes playing the game fun. She’s just been a phenomenal setter,” Jacobson said. “This year we started kind of stepping up a little more complex offense, run a lot more quick attacks out of the middle and she’s done it, without any questions, without any challenges, she just delivered.”
The Eagles now turn their attention to a more formidable opponent, playing up against the No. 9 seed Whitinsville Christian, who earned a bye in their first round. Though it will be a tougher opponent, the team is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’ll be a lot more competitive,” Raskevitz said. “So I’m super excited to see what they have for us.”
The key, says Jacobson, will be finding a consistent attack that the team can rely on.
“That’s been something I’ve been focusing all season long to is like, who can put the ball away for us? Trying to find a consistent hitter that can get a kill when we need that kill,” Jacobson said. “So that’s been our struggle, but we’ve definitely had some moments where people have been shining and they kind of take turns.”