Girls volleyball: Frontier, Turners Falls primed for state semifinal matches Tuesday

Frontier’s Kate DeMaio (19) hits against Baystate Academy in the third set of the Western Mass. Class B girls volleyball final last month at Chicopee Comp.

Frontier’s Kate DeMaio (19) hits against Baystate Academy in the third set of the Western Mass. Class B girls volleyball final last month at Chicopee Comp. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Turners Falls’ Madi Liimatainen makes a pass against Hopedale during the MIAA Division 5 quarterfinal last week in Turners Falls.

Turners Falls’ Madi Liimatainen makes a pass against Hopedale during the MIAA Division 5 quarterfinal last week in Turners Falls. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

Staff Reports

Published: 11-13-2023 4:05 PM

As state tournaments across the Commonwealth wind toward their conclusions, a pair of Franklin County teams will play for title berths on Tuesday evening.

Both the Turners Falls and Frontier girls volleyball teams will be in state semifinal action in central Mass.

Here is a preview of each match and what players to look out for on Tuesday.

Div. 4 semifinals

No. 3 Frontier vs. No. 2 Bellingham, at Fitchburg High School, 6 p.m.

Redhawks head coach Sean MacDonald is two wins away from a picture-perfect ending to an illustrious career. But Frontier needs to get by second-seeded Bellingham to even have that opportunity.

What the Redhawks have done this season is astonishing. In 2022, they went 25-1 and won the state championship in Division 5. After losing a several key contributors and moving up to Division 4, Frontier still finds itself in a familiar position despite the increase in competition.

A lot of that can be credited to the players who have stepped up and dominated this year – starting with captain Caroline Deane. The senior leads the team in kills (323) and digs (206) and has been the team’s vocal spark throughout the season. Fellow seniors Gabby Adams and Kate DeMaio join Deane up front to make a deadly big three of strong hitters. Adams is second in kills and digs while DeMaio is third in kills and also has fiery serve to look out for.

Senior setter Allie Pierce is the glue that keeps it all together. Pierce has 83 aces and an incredible 581 assists (both team-highs) as nearly every point goes through her. There are many other timely contributors for this Frontier team and everybody is capable of producing when called upon, including Emilie Candelaria, Olivia Machon, and Abigail Hernandez.

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Frontier dropped three of four matches midway through the season from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6, but it never panicked through the rough patch. Since then, the Redhawks have won 12 straight and are playing their best volleyball of the season. They hope to ride their momentum into Tuesday’s semifinal.

Div. 5 semifinals

No. 3 Turners Falls vs. No. 2 Bourne, at Worcester North H.S., 6 p.m.

It’s been a downright dominant season for the Thunder, which haven’t lost since September (3-0 defeat to Frontier on Sept. 25) and captured its first Western Mass. championship in nearly two decades last month. Turners’ only two losses this season came to teams that also reached the semifinals in their respective state tournaments (Amherst in Div. 3, Frontier in Div. 4).

To put in perspective how well Turners Falls (19-2) has been playing, the club hasn’t dropped a single set in 12 straight matches — a string of 37 consecutive games won dating back to the final set of a 3-1 victory over Ludlow on Sept. 29. The Thunder haven’t lost a set in any postseason match, including a 3-0 sweep of Lee in the Class D title match.

The competition has ramped up in the state tournament, but Turners has still managed to get the job done in convincing fashion. In the state quarterfinal round against Hopedale last week, the Thunder were pushed by still managed to win via a 3-0 sweep. It was a breakthrough moment for Kelly Liimatainen’s team, which had lost in the quarters the past two state tournaments.

Turners is playing with house money when it takes the court Tuesday against Bourne (18-5), which won the state title back in 2018. That championship run included a win over Frontier in the state semifinals, and Bourne has been a consistent factor in the state semifinal round over the past decade. Both teams swept Hopedale 3-0 in matches this season.

The Thunder will be led by junior Madi Liiamatinen, who wasn’t at 100-percent against Hopedale but still helped Turners punch a semifinal ticket. Setter Taylor Greene has been the model of consistency in the middle of the Turners lineup, while the emergence of Janelle Massey helped pick things up offensively against Hopedale. Tatiana Carr Williams, Kiera Richardson-Meattey, and libero Madisyn Dietz are other players to watch for the blue and white against Bourne.