Frontier Downs Lee Girls in Volleyball Sectional Final

HOLYOKE, Mass. -- On the last day of the regular season, the Lee volleyball team took a five-set decision from Frontier.

 

In Saturday night's western Massachusetts Division 3 Championship game, it was a much different story and, to hear Lee coach John Warner tell the story, a much different Wildcats team.

 

"We didn't come to play," Warner said after top-seeded Frontier (15-6) posted a 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 win over the No. 2 Wildcats. "That's the bottom line. Nobody came to play.

 

"That was not our team tonight. It's frustrating."

 

Frontier erased a seven-point Lee lead in the second set to take control of the match and finished the contest with a six-point run on the serve of captain Lauren Davenport to erase Lee's last lead and pull away.

 

Davenport finished the night with an ace that grazed the net before falling in the middle of the Wildcats.

 

Warner said he had no indication going into the game that his Wildcats were not prepared for the rematch of the last two Western Mass finals -- both also won by Frontier.

 

"Our practices prior looked promishing," Warner said. "We had a lot of excellent matches. And, yet, nobody showed up to play."

 

In a back-and-forth first set, Frontier took the lead for good when a service error gave the No. 1 seed a side out at 23-22.

 

Grace Randall served a point to get to match point, but Lee stayed alive and regained the serve one more time before Hailey Orlosky put away the set with a kill.

 

In the second set, three straight serves by Ahna Schlaefer gave Lee a 12-5 lead, and was still a six-point margin when Lydia Morawiec's kill made it 14-8 moments later.

 

But Frontier chipped away, tying the set with a Davenport kill to regain the serve at 18-18. Ella Deane then served four points to give her team a 22-18 lead it never lost.

 

Frontier carried that momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on Sarah Zoly's serve.

 

But this time, it was Lee who chipped away, coming all the way back to take a 19-17 lead on an ace by Allyah Noel.

 

Frontier snapped a run of three straight points on Noel's serve and eventually gave the ball to Davenport with Lee ahead by one before she finished the match.

 

Frontier advances to play North Sectional Champion Notre Dame in the state semi-finals.