Lee Continues Late-Season Roll in Western Mass Tourney

LEE, Mass. – If there can be a turning point in an eventual three-set volleyball victory, it came late in the first set for the Lee volleyball team.

 

The Wildcats, who beat Mohawk Trail, 25-18, 25-14, 25-11, to advance to the Western Massachusetts Class D semi-finals, were ahead by just a point, 16-15, in the first set after twice hitting the ball into the net and allowing an ace to the visitors’ Emma Canaday.

 

On the next point, Lee’s Hannah Achurra tipped the ball over a double block and to the ground for a sideout, and Mohawk Trail never got closer than two points the rest of the set.

 

“We’re always looking, offensively, to find court,” Lee coach Julia Warner said. “Hannah, tonight, she did a really great job hitting line, tipping over the top, doing lots of things to find gaps in their defense.

 

“And then, you know, we were able to just take the momentum. That’s a funny thing about momentum. We were able to take it and continue with it.”

 

Now second-seeded Lee (11-6) will look to carry that momentum into the regional semi-finals, where it will host either No. 3 Renaissance or No. 6 Granby, who meet on Tuesday evening in Springfield.

 

Monday marked the second meeting this fall between Lee and Mohawk Trail.

 

The first time around, the Wildcats rolled to a 25-6, 25-16, 25-5 win.

 

This time around, Mohawk matched the Wildcats point for point in the early going.

 

“One of the messages that I give the kids is: It’s not a given,” Warner said. “No matter what your seed is, there’s a reason we still play the game, because you have to prove that you are the higher seed. And when you’re a lower seed, which we will be eventually, we have the opportunity to go in and play as hard as we can and try to get an upset.

 

“And that’s what Mohawk Trail did. They played really well tonight. They brought back a lot that they didn’t the last time we saw them.”

 

Mohawk Trail’s defense and ability to extend points was the biggest reason why it was able to keep things close in the early going.

 

Alexis Masten, who finished with a team-high 12 kills for Lee, said the Wildcats had to adjust.

 

“I think we changed the way we were set up,” Masten said. “We just worked really hard together as a group. We put things down. We found open court. That’s pretty much how we got them.”

 

A pair of aces from Kayla Clark closed the first set with a seven-point margin.

 

Lee took control of the second set with six straight points on the serve of Lily Driscoll to take a 9-5 lead. A kill from Marabella Garanzuay opened the four-point margin, and Mohawk Trail did not get closer than three points the rest of the way.

 

It was 19-13 when the serve came back around to Driscoll, who served four points in the row, including a kill by Masten and an ace, to make it a 10-point margin.

 

A service winner from Clark ended things a couple of side outs later.

 

Lee took control of the third set with a 10-point run on Masten’s serve.

 

Achurra (eight kills) put away a few points during the run, which ended with Lee up, 21-5 and Warner substituting one of her reserves for Masten.

 

Kassidy Clark had 25 assists for Lee, which won for the seventh time in eight matches after starting the year 4-5.

 

“I think, honestly, it’s our team bonding,” Masten said of the turnaround. “I think we’ve really grown to care about each other, and I think we’ve learned to play as one, not as separate, individual players. I think that’s really what got us here.”