EASTHAMPTON — Coach Molly Jacobson received a text message at 6:30 a.m. Thursday from Annika Devine, one of her seniors on the Easthampton girls volleyball team.
The Eagles were set to play Wahconah in the first round of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament that night.
“I’m ready,” the message read.
Devine performed like she was ready during the game. The senior led the Eagles with 19 kills, four aces and 11 digs as they defeated the Warriors in a five-set thriller, 3-2, at Easthampton High School.
With the 25-19, 22-25, 16-25, 25-19, 13-15 win, the seventh-seeded Eagles (13-6) advance to the second round and will play No. 2 Frontier Regional (12-8) for a second straight season in the quarterfinals, Monday at 6:30 p.m. in South Deerfield.
“If she needed to have a game, tonight was definitely her game,” Jacobson said of Devine’s performance. “This means a lot more to her, especially with her being a senior. She wasn’t ready for her season to end.”
The Eagles, admittedly, have had issues throughout the season bouncing back from low points in matches, but when Wahconah took a 5-1 lead early in the fifth set, Easthampton didn’t fold and rallied to tie the set at 7-7.
Wahconah regained the lead later in the set, but the Eagles didn’t quit. Led by solid play from Kaylee Powers at the service line and a match-clinching kill from Devine, the Eagles took the set and the victory.
“We were really focusing this week in practice on being more mentally tough,” Jacobson said. “It really paid off in the end. Especially the last set, it was 10-10. It was a game to five. We often do mini games to five. Breaking them down into smaller competitions and getting them ready to compete kept their mindset strong.”
Both teams played shaky in the first set. Wahconah had issues at the service line early and inaccurate passing from Easthampton gave the Warriors back-to-back points. Hitting errors propelled the Eagles to a 5-0 run midway through the set to go ahead 15-12. A solo block from Lanah Carson clinched the set.
Wahconah went on a 5-0 run midway through the second set to go up 11-6. The Warriors’ Kassidy Krejmas had three kills in the set to lead the way. The Eagles were able to capitalize on back-to-back communication errors from Wahconah late in the set, but the Warriors held on to tie the match at 1-1.
The Eagles had issues returning the ball early in the third set. Wahconah took advantage of the weakness and held the momentum early in the stanza. Easthampton continued to battle and kept the score close, but Wahconah rattled off a 7-0 run to go ahead 17-11 and eventually took the third set.
Throughout the first three sets the Eagles had issues communicating effectively. On a couple of occasions, two players went for a ball, or no one went, and the ball fell to the court for a Wahconah point.
Down 2-1 moving into the fourth set, the message was simple.
“Communication,” Devine said. “We need to be loud. Just be loud.”
Led by good play at the service line, Easthampton started the fourth set on a 5-1 run. Wahconah responded later in the set to close the gap to 7-6, but inaccurate passing doomed the Warriors and let the Eagles go on another run. Easthampton led at one point 22-12. Although the Warriors roared back to make it 24-19, Easthampton earned the victory to force the fifth set.
Delima Fournier had 12 assists on the night, many coming in the fourth set.
“I had a setter change-up in the fourth set and (Fournier) did fantastic,” Jacobson said. “She has been working hard and hasn’t had much playing time since the beginning of the season, so it was great for her to step in and contribute as well tonight.”
The Eagles lost to Frontier, 3-0, in the second round of the playoffs last year. Although Jacobson wasn’t sure where this team would end up at the beginning of the season, she is confident in the group moving into the quarterfinals.
“To me, anything can happen,” Jacobson said. “These girls are capable of anything. They have all made huge improvements. Defensively, we are probably the best in western Mass., I think. We run balls down. Nothing hits the floor unless we are too.”