SOUTH DEERFIELD — It took more offensive attacks than usual, but the Frontier Regional volleyball team downed Easthampton High School, 3-0, in the Western Mass. Division 3 quarterfinals at Goodnow Gymnasium on Monday night.
The second-seeded Red Hawks dealt with a sprawling, aggressive Easthampton defense the entire match and overcame some errors to put away the No. 7 Eagles.
Frontier (11-8) advanced to the semifinal round and will play No. 3 Lenox on Wednesday night back at Goodnow Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m.
“That will be a good battle,” Frontier’s Olivia Deane said of Lenox.
The Red Hawks are seeking their 15th straight sectional title.
Set scores were 25-12, 25-21 and 25-14 on Monday night. The Eagles had a 19-13 lead in the second set before Frontier called a timeout and made a comeback.
“We had a lot of hitting errors,” Frontier coach Sean MacDonald said. “It just felt like you hit a little momentum and you slam on your own brake. But a lot of credit to Easthampton. I have been all over the state, that is one of the best defensive teams I have seen. They don’t quit.”
For Deane, the Eagles presented one of the tougher quarterfinal matches of her career at Frontier.
“It was a fun game,” Deane said. “The rallies were long. It really challenged us. I was really proud of our win tonight because we fought hard. Even though it was a three-set match, it was really tight. Their defense really kept us in the game. We had to overcome errors.”
Easthampton (12-7) had 51 digs as a team, with Skylar Raskevitz leading the way with 15.
“Throughout the season we’ve just known that offensively, that’s our weakness,” Easthampton coach Molly Jacobson said. “It would be great to be strong on both ends of the game. We’ve learned to channel our energy through getting digs.”
Maddie Parish (14), Kaylee Powers (12) and Annika Devine (10) all had double-digit digs for the Eagles. At one point, Delima Fournier almost hit the bleachers going horizontal for a dig attempt.
“It’s where we get our inspiration,” Jacobson said. “It’s carried us all season long. We are not that team that will get the game-changing kill but we’ll get the game-changing dig. They pursue everything no matter what.”
Deane soared toward the net for 11 kills, giving the Frontier standout 273 on the season. She had 43 total attempts on attacks.
“I was not expecting their defense to be so good,” Deane said. “I think that’s some of the best defense we have seen all season regardless of division.”
Devine led the Easthampton offense with seven kills and added three blocks. Allison Gardner, Devine, Powers, and Bryce Nelson played their final match for the Easthampton volleyball program.
“The four seniors have played four years of volleyball at our program,” Jacobson said. “They have helped change the culture of volleyball at our school, turning it into a winning, attractive sport. We’ve become something.”
Fournier led Easthampton with 12 assists.
Setter Olivia Rosewarne set up her teammates with 13 assists for the Red Hawks. Sydney Scanlon’s serving helped the Red Hawks build a lead in the first set, and she added 10 assists in the win. Scanlon served up nine aces in total.
Charlotte Doulette’s kill made the score 12-2 before the Red Hawks closed things out in the opening frame.
The Eagles had a 19-13 lead in the second set after a Devine kill. But once again the Red Hawks went on a run with Scanlon on the end line.
Reilly Isler had nine digs to pace Frontier’s defensive effort.
Jalen Sullivan used some well-placed kills in the third set to give the Red Hawks a 10-8 lead before going on a run to pull ahead.