Volleyball: Late-season win over Longmeadow helps Minnechaug gain top spot.
With the introduction of a modified version of the Walker system used to determine seeds, coaches did not quite know what to expect from Thursday’s Western Massachusetts high school girls volleyball tournament seeding meeting.
“We have this new system with standard deviation, and no one knows how it works,” Longmeadow coach George Mulry said following his team’s regular-season finale Wednesday.
However, the results, in both Division II and Division III, seemed to be pretty fair and accurate – a better assessment of a team’s performance this season.
It was a foregone conclusion that Frontier Regional would garner its ninth consecutive No. 1 seed in Division III, as the Red Hawks vie for their eighth straight title. In Division II, a late-season victory over six-time defending champion Longmeadow helped Minnechaug Regional secure the top spot.
“It just means you’ve got to be at your best,” Minnechaug coach Mark Taylor said. “The bull’s eye is on you. You’ve got to stay focused.”
Mulry said Wednesday that he expected the Lancers to be ranked No. 2, and the 3-0 defeat to Minnechaug on Oct. 24 was a big reason why.
“It just reminds you how quickly everything can be taken away,” Mulry said. “We went in there and just put way too much pressure on ourselves to play the match. It was a good wake-up call for sure.”
Minnechaug (16-2) tops the field of nine teams in Division II, while Frontier (18-1) is first among 13 squads in Division III. Opening-round games in both brackets are set for Saturday.
The championship matches will be held Nov. 10 at Holyoke Community College.
Like a swimmer who tapers for the big meets, Frontier spends its entire season honing its skills for November. The two-time defending state champions looked flat in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Longmeadow, but coach Sean MacDonald has faith in his tourney-tested crew.
“We’re still smoothing out some kinks, but we have everybody back now,” said MacDonald, who was without injured starters Cassidy Stankowski and Tori Whitney for stretches of time earlier this season. “We’re healthy. We’re playing all right.”
Mahar Regional (14-5) picked up the No. 2 seed in Division III – perhaps the best case of the new Walker system succeeding. In past years, Lee would have been second based solely on its 19-0 record. However, Mahar plays a tougher schedule, which was taken into account.
Where the system hurt a team most was No. 9 Sabis, which went 17-3 and won the Metro Division title. Strength of schedule, though, appeared to work against the Bulldogs.
Those looking for a darkhorse can point to the Colts of Chicopee Comp, the No.¤4 seed in Division II. While Minnechaug beat Comp twice this season, Taylor is aware of the potential pitfalls.
“If their setting is on, Starr Ripley can get on a roll all by herself,” Taylor said of his team’s possible quarterfinal opponent. “We know what they have, but it’s hard to beat a team three times.”