SOUTH DEERFIELD — The fourth-seeded Frontier Regional girls volleyball team took down fifth-ranked South Hadley, 3-0, in the quarterfinal round of the Western Massachusetts Class B tournament at Goodnow Gym on Monday.
The sweep counted as the Red Hawks’ third consecutive win — a season high — as Frontier appears to be clicking at the point in the year when results matter the most.
“After our game against Chicopee Comp last week, I said to them, ‘we have two strikes left,'” Frontier head coach Courtney Parent said. “Meaning, if we lose in Western Mass. [tournament], we still have state’s [tournament], but then once we lose in state’s, we’re done. We got to take those two strikes seriously, because that could be the end of our season and that’s not what we want.”
The Red Hawks swarmed the Tigers during the early portions of each set, building multi-point leads quickly. South Hadley would eventually find a rhythm as each set progressed, but by then, victory was already within Frontier’s grasp.
“We struggled to fight early and take the lead early,” Tigers head coach Brooke Conner said. “We’re definitely a team that likes to be up early and stay up the whole set and finish strong that way.”
Frontier advanced to the semifinal round via set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-14.
Morgan Mason (eight kills) and Cadence Martin (18 assists, 14 digs) were two of the Red Hawks’ top performers, according to Parent.
“Morgan Mason hit really well tonight,” Parent said. “That’s a swing from her I haven’t seen, so she stood out. Cadence Martin always sets up our offense really well.”
South Hadley saw strong games from Grace Matyszewski (17 digs) and Sam Murphy (team-high three kills).
“I am proud of my team’s growth this season and the respect they have for the game of volleyball,” Conner said. “I know I can count on them to show up at practice ready to put in the work for our next game. We’re not done yet.”
The Red Hawks (7-11) will face off against the No. 1 seed East Longmeadow Spartans in the Class B semifinal on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Tigers (10-7) await their seed and opponent in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament.
Class A Tournament
No. 3 Amherst 3, No. 6 Agawam 1 — The Hurricanes’ defense shined through in their quarterfinal win over the Brownies as the hosts collected 76 digs altogether.
Kiko Bhowmik finished with one shy of 30, while Ava Carey and Aliyah Kenney each earned 13 digs.
Amherst’s offense wasn’t too shabby either as Alyciana Hackett had the most kills (12) and Rosalie Davis distributed a team-high 18 assists.
The ‘Canes will play second-seeded Minnechaug in the semifinal round on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Class C Tournament
No. 1 Lenox 3, No. 8 Easthampton 0 — The Eagles’ run in the Class C bracket was brief as they were blanked by the Millionaires.
Camilla Corsello (six kills), Lily Foster (eight assists) and Summer Routhier (six digs) had notable performances for Easthampton.
Set scores were 17-25, 9-25, 21-25 in favor of Lenox.
No. 3 Smith Voc 3, No. 6 SICS 0 — The Vikings advanced to the semifinal round with ease after knocking off the Bulldogs.
Heidymar Diaz-Lopez (five aces,15 digs, eight kills, block) Irelyn Marcoux (two aces,10 digs, four kills, block) and Leah Franklin (five kills, nine aces, three blocks, dig) led Smith Voc to the victory.
The Vikings will take on second-seeded Mount Greylock on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
REGULAR SEASON GAMES
Girls soccer
Belchertown 2, Pope Francis 2 — Trailing by a pair at halftime, the Orioles salvaged a tie with the Cardinals at home.
Morghan Litz and Aubrey Klingensmith found the mesh for Belchertown, which ended its regular season on a four-game point streak.
Northampton 3, Mt. Greylock 1 — The Blue Devils’ hot streak will roll into the postseason as they’ve snatched wins in seven of their last eight matches after Monday’s victory.
Willow Claps (two) and Maila Silver potted goals for Northampton, while Imanni Power-Greene turned aside three shots from the Mounties.
Easthampton 1, Frontier 0 — The Eagles earned a big, non-league win over the Red Hawks.
Arie Kuchyt contributed Easthampton’s only goal, while goalie Nory Ryan recorded an eight-save shutout.
Frontier goalie Jazzy Hayes had four saves.
Boys soccer
South Hadley 5, Franklin Tech 0 — Multi-point outings from Matt Gillis, Ben Gillis and Ati Alatalo pushed the Tigers past the Eagles.
Alatalo attained two goals, while Matt and Ben Gillis each garnered a goal and assist.
South Hadley’s Noah Carillon got the shutout with four saves.
Gateway 1, Westfield Tech 0 — The Gators grabbed win No. 7 on the season, thanks to Eli Chepurenko’s second-half tally.
Zack Hess kept all six shots he saw out of the Gateway net.
Field hockey
Smith Academy 1, Northampton 0 — Shae Moulton’s goal directly after a corner scrum was the difference in the Falcons’ win.
Charlotte Johnson Mersack kept the Blue Devils in it, concluding with 14 saves.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Boys soccer
Smith Academy 5, Hopkins 0 — The Falcons fought back from an 0-4 start to the season to earn a spot in the Western Mass. Class D tournament following Saturday’s shutout against the Golden Hawks.
Smith closed out the regular season going 6-2-1.
“We did what we needed to do at all levels of the field today and got the result that we wanted,” Falcons head coach Jason Duncan said. “After starting 0-4 this season, it’s a testament to the team’s effort that we’re in the Western Mass. tournament.”
Easthampton 4, Greenfield 1 — Four different goal scorers found the back of the net for the Eagles.
Grady Cerruti, Anthony Incampo, Lucas Federov-Defalco and Jude Pratt-Miranda tickled the twine for Easthampton. Incampo and Federov-Defalco’s goals each came from penalty-kick opportunities.
Liam Grahame-Lawson was busy in between the pipes for the Green Wave, making 15 saves in the loss.
Jack Laurie had Greenfield’s goal.
Girls soccer
Hopkins 5, Smith Academy 0 — The Golden Hawks were dangerous from the opening kickoff as it filled the Falcons’ net four times in the first half of Saturday’s contest.
Ephie Vissas, Olivia Earle, Haven Jones, Morgan Augustine and Bridget Benoit secured strikes for Hopkins.
Smith goalie Vivian Higeura won’t soon forget this one, finishing with 25 saves, despite the loss.
South Hadley 1, Ludlow 0 — Ally Fleury booted in the deciding goal as the Tigers claimed the Kurty/Fielding league title after the win against the Lions.
South Hadley goalie Olivia Athas’ six saves was enough to earn the shutout.
Field hockey
Smith Academy 2, Amherst 2 —Bella Gavron (two goals) and Bella Bramucci (two assists) paced the Falcons offense in the tie on Saturday.
Chloe Avery made three saves in goal for Smith Academy.