Let the postseason begin.
After nearly two months of regular season action, the local high school athletic programs will officially kick off postseason pursuits this week. The PVIAC will hold its second year of sectional tournaments in soccer, volleyball and field hockey, serving as de facto Western Mass. championships after the MIAA switched to a statewide format in 2021.
All sports have added an extra division this year, meaning extra champions will be crowned when the tourneys reach their conclusions. Championship games for all sports are tentatively set for early next week, just before the statewide tournaments begin play.
Here’s a closer look at how the local teams were seeded for the upcoming PVIAC events:
Recorder area schools are represented in three of the five classes on the boys soccer front, led by Frontier Regional which is the highest-seeded local side. The Redhawks drew the No. 3 seed in the Class C tourney, and will host No. 6 Renaissance in a quarterfinal game on Thursday at 4 p.m. in South Deerfield.
Mahar is seeded seventh in Class C, while Greenfield is the No. 8 seed in the eight-team field. The Senators will travel to No. 2 Pope Francis for a quarterfinal game, while the Green Wave head to No. 1 Springfield International. Both games are set for Thursday afternoon.
In Class D, the Franklin Tech boys soccer team is the No. 5 seed, and the Eagles will head to fourth-seeded Pathfinder on Wednesday at 4 p.m for a quarterfinal tilt.
Rounding out the local playoff-bound sides is Pioneer, which drew the No. 4 seed in the Class E field and will host a quarterfinal game against No. 5 Mount Everett on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Similar to the boys soccer field, the Frontier girls soccer team is the highest-seeded local team in the postseason. The Redhawks are also seeded third in Class C, and will host No. 6 Mahar in the quarterfinal round on Thursday night at 6 p.m. in South Deerfield. The game will be the second half of a doubleheader, beginning with the Frontier-Renaissance boys game at 4.
Greenfield earned the final spot in the Class D field, and the eighth-seeded Wave will take to the road to play at No. 1 Monson in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Pioneer rounds out the girls soccer teams in the PVIAC field, as the Panthers are the No. 5 seed in Class E and will play at No. 4 Smith Academy in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
There are four divisions in Western Mass. for the field hockey tournament, and Franklin County has the No. 1 seeds in two of them.
Frontier drew the No. 1 seed in the four-team Class C field, and the Hawks will open with a semifinal game against No. 4 Southwick on Friday at 3 p.m. in South Deerfield.
If seeds hold, a third Frontier-Greenfield meeting would be on the horizon as the Green Wave are the No. 2 seed in the Class C bracket and open at home against No. 3 South Hadley on Thursday at 4 p.m.
In Class D, Pioneer is the No. 1 seed in the four-team bracket and will host No. 4 Turners Falls in a semifinal game on Thursday at 4 p.m. There’s potential for another all-Franklin County final, as No. 2 Franklin Tech will entertain No. 3 Hampshire Regional in the other Class D semifinal, also set for Thursday at 4 p.m.
Seeking a 17th consecutive sectional title, the Frontier girls volleyball team is the No. 1 seed in the Class C field, and will open its championship pursuit on Wednesday when it hosts No. 8 Smith Vocational at 7 p.m.
Franklin County is well represented in Class C, as No. 5 Franklin Tech and No. 7 Greenfield are also in the field. The Eagles will travel to play at No. 4 Southwick on Wednesday while the Green Wave head to No. 2 Easthampton, also on Wednesday, for quarterfinal matches.
In Class D, No. 4 Mohawk Trail earned a home quarterfinal match in Buckland, and the Warriors will host No. 5 Lenox on Wednesday.
Turners Falls is the highest-seeded local team in the Class D field, and the No. 2 Thunder welcome No. 7 Hampden Charter to town on Wednesday. Sixth-seeded Athol will travel to No. 3 Lee for a quarterfinal as well, while No. 8 Pioneer drew No. 1 Mount Greylock in the quarters on Tuesday night.
The volleyball semifinals are tentatively set for Friday while the championship matches are Sunday at either Chicopee Comp or West Springfield H.S.