SOUTH DEERFIELD — The path might have been different, but the Frontier volleyball team once again finds itself in a familiar position.
After years of winning the Western Mass. title and making it to the four-team state tournament, the Redhawks are again one of the final four teams left standing in the MIAA Div. 5 field after three dominant performances in a row.
No. 2 Frontier opened the tournament with sweeps over Ware and Georgetown. On Thursday, the Redhawks dominated from start-to-finish at Goodnow Gymnasium to pick up a 25-10, 25-12, 25-7 victory over No. 10 Douglas in the Div. 5 quarterfinal round, earning a seat in the Final Four.
“It’s a different feel,” Frontier coach Sean MacDonald said. “You’re playing teams you don’t know a lot about. I like it. The tournament has its detractors but it’s cool to get some cross pollination between the state. Any time you can get to the Final Four, however you do it, we’re really proud of the girls.”
The Redhawks (18-4) will face the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal match between No. 22 Turners Falls and No. 14 Mt. Greylock in the Div. 5 semifinals on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. That semifinal match will take place at Chicopee Comp.
With Paulo Freire defeating Whitinsville Christian in the quarterfinals on Thursday and Lee hosting Bourne on Friday in the quarterfinals, there’s a chance the entire Final Four could be comprised of Western Mass. schools.
After getting out to a slow start against Georgetown in the Round of 16, Frontier showed up ready to play from the opening whistle against the Tigers (13-8). The Redhawks raced out to a 7-2 lead behind four straight kills from Jillian Apanell. Leading 17-9, Frontier scored seven consecutive points — four of which were aces by Eve Dougan — to take the early advantage with a victory in the first set.
“We talked about not replicating the start to the Georgetown game where we made a lot of errors,” MacDonald said. “We wanted to come out and if we were the better team, we wanted to show that right off the bat. I think we did that. I’m proud of the way we competed and they executed the game plan. It’s nice as a coach when you draw something up and they do it.”
Douglas started better in the second set, but Frontier once again went on a big run to take control. With Lilah Evans in the service station, the Redhawks put nine straight points on the board to take a 16-6 lead. Dougan and Apanell recorded kills in the back end to allow Frontier to take the set and go ahead, 2-0.
“We’ve been really focused in our practices,” Apanell said. “Sean [MacDonald] stresses we have to be super focused in practice. We get the reps we need so we can be ready to play the next team.”
Apanell tallied four kills and an ace while Sydney Scanlon and Elise Friedrichs each smashed a kill to give the Redhawks a 13-5 lead in the third set. That advantage ballooned to 17-6 and Frontier scored eight of the final nine points to close out a dominant 3-0 sweep.
“It doesn’t get old,” Apanell said. “It was so fun to play tonight. Props to Douglas. Their defense was something. Their libero made so many great saves and they challenged us.”
Apanell led the way with 13 kills. Dougan recorded four kills and six aces, Sam Baker and Elise Friedrichs each put down four kills, and Sydney Scanlon distributed 23 assists in the victory.
The win marks six matches in a row that the Redhawks haven’t dropped a set. After a slow start to the season, Frontier players feel like they’re hitting their stride at the perfect time with everything coming together for the final stretch of the season.
“Playing our first game, we scrimmaged Barnstable and it was a mess,” Apanell said. “The chemistry wasn’t there. We’ve made so much progression. Everything is flowing so nicely. We know exactly what Sydney is setting, our timing has improved and it’s nice to see us come together at the right time.”