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Easthampton’s Kierra Carson hits the ball over the net during the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton. -
Easthampton setter Erin Teague (16) makes a pass during the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton. -
Easthampton’s Kaelin Damon, right, sends the ball back over the net during the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton. -
Easthampton’s Kayley Downie (3) gets to a serve fduring the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton. -
Easthampton’s Katelyn Martin fires up a serve during the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton. -
Easthampton’s Lidie Buttrick (18) makes a dig during the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton. -
Easthampton’s Makenna Slate hits the ball during the Eagles’ 3-0 sweep of Ware in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32 on Thursday in Easthampton.
EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton earned the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Division 5 girls volleyball tournament, and the Eagles were eager to show why they deserved that ranking.
After over a week off from its last match, Easthampton dominated No. 25 Ware 3-0 (25-7, 25-7, 25-18) in the state tournament Round of 32 on Thursday night.
“I’m glad we came out and showed who Easthampton volleyball is and why we deserve to be in the tournament,” Eagles head coach Molly Jacobson said.
The first two sets were a breeze for Easthampton. The Eagles ended the first set on an 8-0 run, headlined by the savvy serving of Kayley Downie who closed out the frame with three straight aces.
In set two, Easthampton ripped off another huge run, this time a 12-3 spurt to give it a 2-0 lead heading into the third. The Eagles have been known to play to the level of their competition this season, but that wasn’t the case on Thursday.
“We’re ready to play some competition,” Jacobson said. “We actually do better when we play good teams. But tonight we played really well and played how we wanted to, and I’m happy about that.”
Ware sparked a comeback in the third set and actually led 15-13, threatening at a fourth set.
But Easthampton kicked it back into gear and finished the frame on another huge 9-0 run, sparked by five aces from Lidie Buttrick.
“To Ware’s credit, they re ally did start to pick it up,” Jacobson said. “They were digging balls that they weren’t in the first two sets, so I give them credit for hanging in there and staying tough and figuring some things out.”
Jacobson made a conscious effort to get all of her seniors extra playing time as the regular season winded down. She wanted them to enjoy playing on their home court knowing there wouldn’t be many opportunities to do so.
On Thursday, she did the opposite. Jacobson played everyone and gave the non-starters significant playing time to build valuable experience for them moving forward.
“Our last few games in our home gym, I concentrated on getting my seniors in and playing them as much as possible,” Jacobson said. “Honestly, I felt pretty confident with where we were at so I wanted to let everybody get in and get experience.”
Easthampton (16-6) will host another playoff match next week, either Monday or Wednesday, against No. 24 Saint John Paul II in the Round of 16. With teams having to travel long distances for contests, Jacobson understands the benefits of welcoming teams from out east.
And the Eagles typically don’t handle those far trips well.
“It’s absolutely huge, because we’re pretty notorious for losing our focus on long bus rides or not being able to show up ready to play,” Jacobson said. “So I feel like home court advantage is certainly to our benefit.”
Div. 2 Round of 32
No. 5 Minnechaug 3, No. 28 Northampton 0 – The Blue Devils kept Minnechaug off the board until the second quarter, but the Class A champions scored one goal in each of the final three frames to advance to the Round of 16 with a 3-0 win on Thursday night in Wilbraham.
Northampton finished its impressive season 10-6-3 overall.
Audrey Izzo, Alivia Grono and Alayna Lucas tallied the Minnechaug goals.
Div. 2 prelim
No. 32 Somerset-Berkley 2, No. 33 Amherst 0 – The Hurricanes couldn’t find the back of the net in a season-ending road loss in the preliminary round on Thursday.
Amherst finished its season 12-6-1 overall.
Somerset-Berkley will travel to No. 1 Masconoment on Saturday in the Round of 32.
Div. 5 prelim
No. 22 Drury 3, No. 43 Gateway 0 — Goalie Jayliana Rivera made 19 saves in a stellar effort between the pipes for the Gators in a season-ending loss on Thursday in North Adams.
Gateway, which finished its season 6-7-2 overall, trailed 2-0 at halftime. Seniors Alexi Bonenfant, Maia Kibbe, Abigail Madru, Kaitlyn Maynard and Anna Sakaske played their final game for the Gators, which won their final five games of the season to earn a state tournament berth.
Div. 4 prelim
No. 29 Winthrop 0, No. 36 South Hadley 0 – The host Vikings won a wild one, securing a 3-2 victory in penalty kicks to advance after the teams played 80 scoreless minutes of regulation and two more overtime periods.
Winthrop advanced to play at No. 4 Hamilton-Wenham in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
South Hadley, which impressed down the stretch to earn a state tourney spot, finished its season 8-9-2.
Div. 5 prelim
No. 27 Tech Boston Academy 5, No. 39 Smith Academy 0 – Jake Wilcox was busy between the posts for the Falcons, as he made 10 saves on 15 shots in Smith Academy’s preliminary round loss on the road.
Seniors Isaak Baranoski, Ben Hudzik, Sam Stanton, Greg Stone and Ayden Whalen each played their last game in a Falcons uniform. The class won back-to-back Western Mass. championships in 2021 and 2022 during their time with the program.
The Falcons finished their season 11-4-4.
