NORTHAMPTON — There wasn’t much separating the Smith Vocational and Mahar girls volleyball teams on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Western Mass. Class C Tournament. 

The third-seeded Vikings stormed ahead to win the first set and take a 1-0 lead, but the sixth-seeded Senators rallied back to win the second and third frames for a 2-1 lead. 

Smith Vocational didn’t give up, taking an early lead in the fourth and not relinquishing it to force a fifth and decisive set. There, Mahar snatched momentum back to walk away with a 15-11 set win, advancing to the sectional semifinals with a 3-2 victory. 

“I’m so proud of the way we kept our energy up throughout the match,” Senators coach Maeve Powell said. “I think that was a deciding factor. The consistency even when we were down, we were able to regroup and come back up which was great to see. Everyone contributed today.” 

Smith Vocational coach Ashley Clark said she was proud of the resilience her team showed on Tuesday, not giving up even when it appeared Mahar had all the momentum. 

“Again and again, year after year, they don’t want to quit,” Clark said. “They get a fire in their belly. It’s just a matter of sustaining that fire. That’s been a little bit of a struggle.” 

The Vikings (13-5) pulled ahead midway through the first set and never gave up   the lead, with Brook Wolcott putting down an ace late to help the hosts take a 1-0 lead following a 25-17 set win. 

It looked like Mahar (9-8) was going to cruise to a set win in the second after taking a 20-9 lead, but the Vikings had other ideas. 

Smith Vocational went on a run with Jaelyn Kulas in the service station and later, cut the lead to 23-20. The Sens scored two of the next three points however, tying things up with a 25-21 set win. 

A pair of Hayden Comeau kills helped Mahar build a 13-7 lead in the third set. Irelyn Marcoux caught fire in the service station for Smith Vocational to get the Vikings back in it at 19-19. 

With Angelina Alonso serving however, the Senators scored the next six points — with Comeau adding a kill along the way — to help Mahar earn a 25-19 set win to take a 2-1 lead. 

“We knew it was going to be a close match,” Powell said. “I’m really excited.”

With their backs against the wall, the Vikings responded in the fourth set. Smith Vocational scored the opening five points of the set with Abby Desrochers serving and leading 14-10, the Vikings ripped off six straight with Roma Bentrewicz serving. Smith Vocational eventually earned a 25-17 win to force the fifth set. 

“I expected it was going to be a four-setter at least,” Clark said. “We’ve been working hard on our defense the last few weeks. It’s paying off, it’s just a matter of the stamina and keeping it going.” 

Madelynn Burgess’ serving was the difference in the fifth set for Mahar. Burgess opened with an ace before a pair of Comeau kills helped the Sens take a 10-6 lead. 

With the Sens leading 11-7, Burgess smashed back-to-back aces and Mahar held on from there, earning a 15-11 set win to move on to the semifinals. 

“We talked about focusing on each point,” Powell said. “We weren’t focused on what the score was. When you look at the score, you can get overwhelmed. You have to keep that straightforward mindset. They wanted it.” 

The Senators will travel to play at No. 2 Lenox in the semifinals at a date and time to be determined. 

Not only did Mahar keep its season alive, but the win made it so the Senators will finish with a .500 or better record and automatically qualify for the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament. 

“It’s an awesome feeling,” Powell said. “It’s the first time the program has gone since I’ve been here. A quarter of the girls on this team I’ve had for the last three years. They’ve been working super hard so it’s awesome to see that work pay off.” 

The season isn’t over for the Vikings either. Smith Vocational has qualified for the Small School Vocational Tournament as well as the Div. 5 state tournament. 

“I told them we have plenty more games,” Clark said. “It’s far from the end of the season.” 

Class D quarters

Mohawk Trail 3, Ware 0 — Palmer King put down 11 kills and seven aces to go along with eight assists while Adrian Grant and Emmalee Inman each had two kills and three aces as the second-seeded Warriors advanced to the semifinals with a sweep over seventh-seeded Ware Tuesday in Buckland. 

Mohawk Trail will face No. 3 Turners in the semifinals. 

Jade Wheeler came up with 10 digs while Emma Canaday had three kills and three aces in the victory.

Turners Falls 3, Veritas Prep 0 – It was a dominant effort from the third-seeded Thunder, which cruised into a semifinal berth via a 25-15, 25-16, 25-10 sweep over No. 6 Veritas Prep on Tuesday in Turners Falls.

Turners will head to Buckland to meet Mohawk Trail in the Class D semifinals on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.

Madi Liimatainen powered the Thunder (13-6) with 15 aces, nine kills and three digs on the night, while Maddie Dietz went for 12 assists and seven aces. Addison Talbot tossed in four aces and a dig as Turners earned another crack at Mohawk Trail after the Warriors won both regular season meetings in five sets.

Non-playoff

Southwick 3, Athol 0 – Giana Vaillancourt notched eight kills while Skyla Basso and Olivia Mayer put down four apiece in the Bears’ season finale loss on Tuesday.

Set scores were 25-17, 25-23, 25-17.

Ella Reed went for eight assists on the  night, while Athol’s Morgan Brailey notched a team-high four aces and Mayer finished with two blocks.

Boys soccer

Pioneer 1, Mt. Everett 0 — The Schmid League title is heading to Northfield. 

After going on the road and playing stout defense, the Panthers walked away with a shutout victory to seal the Schmid League championship. 

Pioneer’s goal came in the 50th minute, with Alex McClelland heading in a Kurt Redeker throw in. Gavin Gammell made seven saves in the shutout, including one point blank chance early in the game that kept Mt. Everett off the board. 

Girls soccer

Amherst 4, Frontier 0 — Madeline Hockman scored a pair of goals for the Hurricanes, who knocked off the Redhawks on Tuesday.

Aylen Shaw made nine saves for Frontier. 

Field hockey

Mahar 4, Palmer 0 — The Senators’ season ended on a high note, as Mahar scored a pair in the first quarter to earn a win over the Panthers on Tuesday at the Woodward Complex. 

Taylor Paluk opened the scoring before Makayla Beauchemin scored a pair of goals to add to the lead. Ava DeJackome closed out the scoring in the fourth. 

DeJackome had two assists, Carly Paluk and Taylor Paluk each had an assist while Bella Burnett made eight saves in the shutout. 

Monday results

Girls soccer

Greenfield 1, Franklin Tech 0 — Elderina Cecunjanin scored on a direct kick 15 minutes into the second half, propelling the Green Wave to a victory Monday. 

Annie Cobileanschi made five saves for Greenfield while Kylee Gamache stopped 10 shots for Franklin Tech.