H.S. Roundup: Granby boys volleyball breezes past Belchertown

BELCHERTOWN — The Granby boys volleyball team took home its sixth win of the season, defeating Belchertown in three sets (25-16, 25-11, 25-12) on Friday night.

Coming off back to back losses, the Rams were intent on getting back in the win column right out of the gate. The group played a fluid match with limited mistakes, capitalizing on any that came from the other side.

“I thought the boys were playing well, having fun and playing with confidence again,” Granby head coach Chad Gagnon said. “I think that was our biggest problem in the last two games. We didn’t play with confidence. And if you don’t play with confidence, it’s really hard to win the game. So they righted that ship on their own.”

Jake Gagnon led the Rams with 12 kills in the win, also providing nine assists, two aces and a dig. Nathan Walsh tallied a team-high 24 assists adding three kills, two aces, one block, and one dig.

Shea MacLean led the Orioles with five kills in the loss, adding on a team high three blocks and one dig. Gavin Couchon was deadly serving on Friday night, picking up four aces along with three kills and a pair of digs.

“We knew it was gonna be a challenge coming in,” Belchertown head coach Chistopher Shea said. “Just wanted to play point by point and just try to win a few points here and take some off of them and see if we could string together ours. We just never could get going passing wise.”

The loss puts the Orioles at .500 on the season, with a 4-4 record heading into next week’s contest. They’ll look to get back in the win column on Wednesday, April 22, at 5:15 p.m. back at home against East Longmeadow.

With the win, Granby improves to 6-3 on the year, hoping to build off the positive momentum on Monday, April 20, at 5:15 p.m. at home hosting Holyoke.

“We’re definitely getting stronger every week,” Gagnon said. “I think a couple of losses, honestly, were good for us, maybe focus a little bit better. The goal here is playoffs. It’s not how many wins we can get. How far can we get in the playoffs? We have a super tough week coming up next week, so we’re working hard to get better.”

Baseball

Smith Voc 11, Pathfinder 0 — Nolen Ingram threw six shutout innings and struck out 15 in the Vikings’ huge win.

At the plate, Ingram brought in three runs with a double to lead all Smith Voc players. Chase Dionne recorded two RBIs, behind Ingram.

Gateway 11, Sci-Tech 0 — The Gators thrashed the CyberCats, despite only tallying four hits.

Zack Hess led with a pair of base knocks, while Jacob Maynard and Levi Savoy each recorded one hit.

Weston Anderson pitched well, allowing just one hit while fanning seven for Gateway.

Girls lacrosse

Amherst 16, Hampshire 3 — Four different Hurricanes found the back of the net more than once in the big win over the Raiders.

Ava Carey (four goals), Kiko Bhowmik (hat trick), Sylvie Walker (hat trick) and Claire Kennedy (two goals) were feeling it for Amherst.

Rylie Simmons, Hazel Scully-Henry and Kaelyn Bartlett scored for Hampshire.

Smith Voc 10, Southwick 4 — Kaylin Dumas deposited four goals to lead the Vikings past the Rams.

Erin Miller and Katelynn Hennessy also tucked in two goals for Smith Voc.

Tantasqua 15, Belchertown 8 — The Orioles’ offense was overrun by the Warriors.

Lia Pikul’s four points was a bright spot for Belchertown in the defeat.

Grafton 19, Northampton 10 — The Blue Devils couldn’t overcome a slow start in the loss.

Imanni Power-Greene (five goals) and Makayla Fydenkevez (four goals, two assists) were active on offense for Northampton.

Softball

Belchertown 20, West Springfield 2 — Lila Roy’s big night at the plate helped fuel an offensive explosion for the Orioles in a dominant five-inning victory.

Madeline Williams pitched all five innings in the win, allowing just two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts.

Frontier 13, South Hadley 1 — The Tigers struggled to find consistent offense against a tough Redhawks lineup.

Samantha LaFlesh and Corinne Charlebois were the only batters to tally a hit in the loss.

Monson 2, Easthampton 1 — The Eagles couldn’t come up with the timely hits in a pitcher’s duel loss on Friday night.

Summer Routhier pitched a great game in the loss, picking up 10 strikeouts in a six-inning performance where she allowed just one earned run.

Northampton 19, Pope Francis 8 — The Blue Devils had a hit parade in a dominant victory, tallying 17 total hits from eight different batters.

Avery Hicks led the team with three hits of her own, one being a double, while adding on three RBIs. Ryleigh Pease also finished with three hits, all singles, with three runs driven in of her own.

Late Thursday Results

Girls lacrosse

Belchertown 19, Chicopee 9 — Aubrey McCain scored nine goals to propel the Orioles past the Pacers.

Lia Pikul (six goals) and Emma Almeida (seven saves) also turned in strong games.

Wahconah 10, Amherst 5 — A second-half slump sank the Hurricanes against the Warriors.

Kiko Bhowmik (hat trick, assist) topped out among Amherst point-getters, while Eden Polak earned career save No. 300 in the loss.

Girls tennis

Amherst 4, Minnechaug 1 — The Hurricanes found wins in each match, except first singles, against the Falcons.

Mahima Ganesan, Marin Carlyon, Micayla Shefftz and Janaki Ewoton and Mya Glace and Aliya Nazirova earned points for Amherst.

Holyoke 3, SICS 2 — The Purple Knights won all three singles matches to edge the Bulldogs.

Grace O’Shea-Griffiths, Madison Bruso and Abby Ngure took match wins for Holyoke.