Trying to replace eight graduated seniors and a key sophomore who transferred certainly isn’t an easy task. If anyone can handle the challenge, it’s coach Sean MacDonald and the Frontier volleyball team.
The Redhawks return as the defending state champions — winning the last MIAA Div. 3 state tournament held in 2019 — and went unbeaten while not dropping a set in the Franklin County bubble a season ago.
With a brand new starting lineup, Frontier will return to a competition level it has faced in previous years with Amherst, Longmeadow, Westfield and Minnechaug all jockeying for position in the PVIAC Eastern League. You don’t become a Western Mass. powerhouse without being able to develop talent however, and the Redhawks have plenty of talent ready to step up and play major roles to keep them in the state title hunt in 2021.
“We lost eight girls and eight pretty good ones,” MacDonald said. “Three were All-State, so we had a lot of playing time in that eight. People graduate all the time. It’s not something new. It’s a big number but I feel like the last time we lost eight, we didn’t have any seniors the next year so we basically lost two years. We had no senior leadership. This year we have that, we have a lot of good juniors. We have a lot of work to do but we’re in a better place than when we lost that many before.”
Lilah Evans, Elise Friedrichs, Jillian Apanell and Sydney Scanlon make up the group of returning players who rotated into the starting lineup a year ago while Tia Gottschalk, Samantha Baker, Brooke Davis, Eve Dougan and Caroline Deane return to the program and will play roles this season.
Through the preseason, there’s excitement building about the potential of the group.
“We’re always cycling new girls through,” Evans said. “There’s a lot of promise. I’m really excited. We have pretty strong talent all over the court. Every position we have a few options to put into games. We feel like our schedule will be more difficult than last year. Hopefully Sean [MacDonald] can trust us to win these games with all the potential we have.”
The Redhawks got a good taste of their competition this summer, competing in the Pioneer Valley Juniors Summer League. Frontier beat Longmeadow in the semifinals and followed it with a comeback victory over Westfield in the finals, a match that had both teams at near full strength.
Getting to compete in challenging, back-and-forth matches after a season where they saw little resistance got the Redhawks excited to play their normal schedule this season.
“Knowing how competitive that game was, it made us so excited for the season,” Apanell said. “We were playing with most of the varsity team here and it was so exciting. We’re looking forward to playing tough competition this year and seeing how it plays out. Last season when they graduated we felt nervous and anxious to keep going without them and hold up the legacy. Over the summer as a team and coming into tryouts, we look good and I’m excited to play with all the younger girls coming up.”
The lineup may be shuffled around, but the season goal remains the same as it is every year for Frontier.
“Sean [MacDonald] talked yesterday that we’re all striving for gold,” Gottschalk said. “We play for gold. We’re working hard. We talk about practicing and putting more into our practices than the other teams so we can get more out of it. If we put more in than another team, two weeks from now we’ll be doing better. We’re trying to meet our expectations as best as we can with the amount of practice we can have.”
“We have some great hitters this year,” Friedrichs added. “I look at all these girls and know they have a nice, hard swing no matter where they are on the court. I’m really looking forward to that. We’re playing a lot of challenging teams this year but I have no doubt we’re going to put up a fight just as much as they are.”
The remainder of the local teams — Athol, Franklin Tech, Greenfield, Mahar, Mohawk Trail, Pioneer and Turners Falls — are joined by Wahconah to form the PVIAC Northern League this season.
After spending the Fall II season preaching and nailing down the fundamentals, Athol coach Donna Lajoie has seen it carry over into this preseason and is hoping to see her squad make the jump and be competitive in the league.
Junior Lindsey LeBlanc and sophomore Laney Florentino will be the primary Bear setters while sophomore Alma White has impressed as an outside hitter. Kennedy Vaillancourt, Kassidy Swan and Skyleigh D’Abrosia are three seniors who bring experience to the lineup.
“I believe we are at a level where we can compete with most teams,” Lajoie said. “We may not be able to knock off the likes of Frontier but I think we can give them a competitive match at the very least. This is such a kind, energetic, and determined group of girls and can’t wait to see what we do.”
Mahar will throw out a very young team this year, with only five high school-aged players on the roster.
Saylor Kegans, Amelia Ramos and Oliva Mayer will be key cogs in the lineup.
“The future of the program is bright,” Senators coach Sarah Woodward said. “We’re looking to the future and going to work hard, learn new things and try our best to improve throughout the season.”
Turners Falls will rely upon a talented core of players this fall, buoyed by senior Emily Young and freshman Madi Liimatainen. The pair will occupy the outside hitter positions for the Thunder, and both are year-round players who compete for the Pioneer Valley Juniors club program.
Turners coach Kelly Liimatainen said Young is a strong leader who will set the tone for the club this fall.
Sophomore Taylor Greene is penciled in as the team’s starting setter, while senior Olivia Stafford is joined by veterans Abbi Holloway, Steph Peterson and Jill Reynolds as returning varsity performers.
Freshman Tatiana Carr-Williams is a promising newcomer who should figure into the mix in the middle immediately, while eighth-graders Skylei LaPan and Madisyn Dietz are other players who could contribute.
There’s no shortage of experience on the Greenfield roster, with nine seniors, four juniors and one sophomore making up the varsity squad.
Senior Kelsey Richardson is expected to have a big year as an outside hitter while junior Karisma Santana will be a factor in the middle. Aisha Pruitt-Gonzalez will be the Green Wave setter.
Sherri Lannon takes over a Mohawk Trail team that had 36 players sign up between middle and high school.
Octavia Crawford, Ellie Patnode, Alex Lilly, Sophia Guy and Ashlin Duval are the returning seniors and will each make an impact.
“I think we’ll be pretty good,” Lannon said. “From what I’ve seen so far we have a pretty good team with some talented players.”
Like Mohawk Trail, Pioneer saw a large group of girls come out for the team. After serving as the JV coach a season ago, Shannon Connolly takes the helms of the varsity team and has liked what she’s seen thus far.
Senior Alana Redeker looks solid as an outside and middle hitter while KK Lounder has been playing all over for the Panthers. Marina Duclos transferred from Chicopee and has club experience and will be a factor as an all-around player.
“I’m really impressed with the team so far,” Connolly said. “They’ve really come together as a group. We have a lot of strong players and a lot of seniors so we’re looking forward to an awesome year.”
Franklin Tech coach Jade Cuevas is hoping to see her team be more vocal and build on the solid foundation they began during the Fall II season.
Emily Ryan, Faith Smith, Maria LaBelle and Lea Chapman make up a strong core of hitters for the Eagles while Renee Reed and Lillian Poirier will be the setters.