AMHERST — Volleyball is a game of ebbs and flows. Teams have to capitalize on the momentum they have and weather the storms when their opponent goes on a run.
That’s exactly what No. 14 Amherst was able to do against No. 19 Revere on Thursday night in its first game of the MIAA Division 2 state tournament. In front of a packed home gym, the Hurricanes dispatched the Patriots in three sets (25-17, 25-12, 25-22) to earn a spot in the Round of 16.
The home court advantage was certainly in the Hurricanes’ favor on Thursday, something the team was chasing all during the regular season.
“It was definitely a really big motivation for us to work really hard this season,” Amherst setter Annabel Ogden said on playing at home. “It does I think make a difference on the play … it’s also really good to have our fans at home.”
From the very first serve, it was clear that the game was going to be a battle. Neither Amherst nor Revere was able to pull more than three points ahead until late in the first set. A quick up the middle from Lauren Joy highlighted a 4-0 run that forced Revere to take a timeout. The Patriots were never truly able to recover, making a few unforced errors that allowed Amherst to run away with the opening set.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Revere reeled them back in, tying the game up 7-7, though they were never able to take the lead in the middle frame. Amherst went on an 8-1 run in the middle of the frame to open up a big lead, and cruised to the finish from there, never taking its foot off the gas.
“I think we just kept being aggressive. I know that’s something that from the beginning of the season to now is something that we’ve really leaned into,” Amherst’s Amalia Martin said. “I think our aggressiveness and our energy and just our absolute want to be on the court is really what pushed (us).”
With their season on the line, the Patriots didn’t make the third set easy for the Hurricanes. Revere wrestled the lead away from Amherst early and both teams traded back and forth before Amherst was able to pull away, building as much as a 16-9 lead off an ace from Ogden. The Patriots went on a 9-3 run to bring the score to 19-18, but the Hurricanes held them off, relying on the team’s depth to pull out the win.
“Once we got a little warmed up, our passes were much better. I felt like in particular our middles in the front row were really strong getting their hands up in their faces and really did a great job of doing that. I thought Ruby (Austin) did a really great job outside hitting,” Amherst coach Kacey Schmitt said. “All around, I think we played our game and stayed in system and I felt like we had superior hitters, so we just had to use them.”
The Hurricanes shared the wealth on the stat sheet. Austin had six aces and five kills along with seven digs, and Martin posted five aces, 11 assists and 10 digs to go with her seven kills. Ogden put up 16 assists, Liza Beigel had eight digs (several at crucial moments of the game), and Lauren Joy finished with seven kills.
Amherst will have to wait to know for sure who its next opponent will be, but it will likely be No. 3 Duxbury, who faces No. 30 Danvers on Friday afternoon.