State high school volleyball tournaments: Amherst, Frontier earn top-four seeds

The ball crosses the net during the women's beach volleyball semifinal match between Austria and Lithuania at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, June 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Dmitry Lovetsky

By HANNAH BEVIS

Staff Writer

Published: 10-30-2023 6:25 PM

Two local teams earned top four seeds in the MIAA state volleyball brackets, which were released on Monday.

Frontier is the No. 3 seed in the Division 4 bracket while Amherst earned the No. 4 seed in the Division 3 bracket. Both teams are facing a new mix of teams this season – last year, Amherst played in the larger Division 2 tournament while Frontier won the Division 5 title; this is also Frontier head coach Sean McDonald’s last season at the helm, and jumping up to Division 4 will give him and his team a challenge in their repeat attempt.

The ’Canes will get a bye in the first round before hosting the winner of No. 36 Montachusett and No. 29 Blackstone Valley at a date and time to be determined. Frontier will also get to rest in the first round before taking on either No. 30 Saint Paul Diocesan or No. 35 Bay Path RVT at a to be determined date.

Holyoke was the lone Gazette school to qualify in the Division 2 tournament, earning the No. 35 seed. They’ll travel to No. 30 Milton at a to be determined date; the winner of that match will take on No. 3 Canton.

Besides Amherst earning the No. 4 spot in Division 3, Belchertown also earned a top 20 seed, coming in at No. 14. They’ll get a bye in the first round before hosting No. 19 Taconic on Thursday at 5 p.m.

While Frontier gets a break in the first round of the Division 4 tournament, South Hadley will jump into the action right away. The Tigers earned the last automatic qualifying spot at No. 32, and as a result will host No. 33 Mashpee in the opening round, time and date to be determined. The winner of that contest will face a difficult challenge, going up against No. 1 Ipswich, last year’s Division 4 champion.

Both Easthampton and Smith Voc earned spots in the Division 5 tournament. The Eagles cracked the top 10, earning a No. 8 ranking, while Smith Voc picked up the No. 26 seed. The Eagles will get a bye in the first round before hosting either No. 25 Ware or No. 40 South Shore Charter.

Meanwhile, the Vikings also earned a home game with their ranking, and will play No. 39 Prospect Hill Academy at a time and date to be determined.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.

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