LENOX, Mass. – As it is in Washington, D.C., so it was at Lenox Memorial on Thursday evening.
The Millionaires owned the Senators.
Kelsey Kirchner put down nine kills to lead Lenox to a 25-13, 25-12, 25-17 win over Mahar in the semi-finals of the Western Massachusetts Class C Tournament.
The win extended Lenox’s 19-match winning streak and sent the Millionaires into Saturday afternoon’s regional final against top-seeded Mount Greylock in a rematch of last year’s Western Mass title game and the season opener this fall for both teams, when the Mounties handed Lenox its only loss of the season.
Although the issue was never really in doubt in Lenox’s sixth-straight three-set victory, there was a moment in the third set when the Millionaires needed a big play. Senior Hailey Armold was there to provide it.
Mahar mounted its best run of the night, a seven-point run on the serve of Hayden Comeau, to erase a four-point deficit and take an 11-8 lead.
Armold put down a kill on the next point, and her swing swung the momentum in favor of Lenox.
“We’ve wanted to win Western Mass for a while now,” Armold said. “I’ve been on this team for about three years, and we’ve worked really hard this season. And we weren’t just gonna let it stop now. We just wanted to keep ourselves motivated.
“And when I got that hit, we got the ball back, and then we were just on a roll.”
Armold went to the service line after the kill, and Kirchner got a kill to draw Lenox within one at 11-10. After the Millionaires tied it, the Senators got a sideout, and the teams traded points until the serve got to Etta Schnackenberg with the set tied, 13-13.
Schnackenberg (seven assists) served five straight points, including two of her three aces in the match, to open an 18-13 lead that Lenox never lost.
The match ended, appropriately, on a kill by Kirchner.
Libero Emily Barenski pulled up nine digs and served five aces. Evelyn Julieano finished with six digs and four aces, and Grace Julieano passed out a team-high nine assists while putting down three kills.
Stephanie Armstrong, who took over on the bench for the Millionaires mid-season, said that her players have been self-starters in maintaining the focus during the long winning streak.
“I think they’re motivated,” she said. “They’re running with the momentum that we have. And every time we step on the court, we’re playing for the name that’s on the front of our jersey and playing for each other. They think of this as their year, and it can be.
“I came in and [took over a team] that is ready to win. I mean, they were last year, too, which is great. They’ve been doing well the last couple of seasons. Steve [Laurin] has done a great job with the culture. So I stepped into a team where the culture is great, the kids are great. It’s just been fun to experience this with them.”
Armstrong did not experience the twin disappointments of a 3-1 loss to Mount Greylock in last year’s Western Mass final or even a 3-2 setback in Williamstown back on Sept. 3.
But her players did. And they are ready to flip the script.
“Winning 19 games in a row, we’ve obviously never done that, and it just really makes us feel good about ourselves,” Armold said after winning a game attended by several members of the Mount Greylock varsity. “Going into Western Mass, playing Greylock on Saturday, we’re just all pumped up and we’re excited to try to get the win.
“Last year was tough, but we’re going to come back this year, and we’re going to win. We all believe in ourselves, and if we just stay together and work as hard as we can and try as hard as we can, we got this.”
Lenox and Mount Greylock are scheduled to play in the regional final at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Taconic High School.
