The MIAA released the 2022 state tournament brackets for both football and girls volleyball on Monday, as several local high school programs learned their postseason fate.
Just one Hampshire County school qualified for the state football tournament – Northampton (7-1) is the No. 12 spot in the Division 4 tournament, which means the Blue Devils will hit the road for their first round contest.
Northampton will travel to the South Shore to face No. 5 Scituate, the defending Div. 4 state champions, Friday night at 7 p.m.. The Sailors went 3-4 overall, playing a difficult eastern Mass. schedule.
Last year, the Blue Devils were the No. 9 seed in the field and fell to No. 8 Ashland, 42-14, in the opening round.
In the volleyball tournament, one local team secured the top seed in its division, as Frontier earned the No. 1 spot in the Division 5 bracket. Not far behind the Redhawks was Easthampton, which earned the No. 6 spot. The two teams recently clashed in the Western Mass. Class C final, where Frontier earned a 3-0 win and its 17th consecutive Western Mass title.
Frontier will face either No. 32 Wareham or No. 33 Pioneer Valley Christian in the Round of 32. Easthampton is slated to play either No. 27 Sturgis Charter East or No. 38 KIPP Academy Lynn.
Up in Division 2, Amherst volleyball picked up the No. 14 spot and will host No. 19 Revere in the Round of 32.
No. 38 Holyoke snuck into the tournament in the final spot thanks to a 10-8 regular season record; the Purple Knights will play in the preliminary round against No. 27 Stoughton for a shot at the Round of 32.
Also earning a postseason berth was Belchertown in Division 3. The Orioles, fresh off a Western Mass. Class B tournament run that brought them to the sectional final, are seeded No. 26 and will face a tough foe in No. 7 Cardinal Spellman on the road in the Round of 32.