NORTHFIELD — In the middle of the second set it looked like the Pioneer volleyball team was heading toward a berth in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 32. 

Taking on No. 35 Madison Park Vocational in the preliminary round on Wednesday, the 30th-ranked Panthers went up 1-0 and were marching to make it 2-0 with a 17-9 lead in the second set. 

That’s when Madison Park’s Naisha Marte got going in the service station. 

Marte put down a pair of aces while Madison Park ripped off 12 straight points to take a 21-17 lead, with Reishmell Tejeda Arias later smashing an ace to close out the set with a 26-24 win.

The Cardinals rode that momentum for the ensuing two sets to upset Pioneer, 3-1, at Messer Gymnasium. 

Madison Park Vocational (13-8) will travel back to Franklin County to face No. 3 Turners Falls in the Round of 32 on Friday at 6 p.m. 

“The girls gave everything they had,” Panthers coach Shannon Connolly said of her team. “They left everything on the court. I’m really, really proud of them and I couldn’t have asked for more from them. I didn’t think we’d make it this far at all. We just kept ticking away.” 

It might not have been the ending Pioneer (6-13) had hoped for, but just qualifying for the state tournament shows the progress the Panthers made this season. 

Pioneer won just one match in 2021 and upped that to two wins in 2022. It was able to triple that win total this season (six). Connolly credited all the hard work her team put in during the season to improve and noted that her young team will only keep getting better going forward. 

“Would we have liked to move on? Absolutely,” Connolly said. “It just wasn’t in the cards this year. Maybe we can go on a run next year.” 

It was an evenly played opening set between the Panthers and the Cardinals. Madison Park's lead of 9-5 early was the largest advantage either team had in the initial set, with points being traded back-and-forth. 

Tied 19-19, Pioneer continued to keep the ball on the Cardinal side of the net, which led to mistakes and a 22-19 lead. Madison Park went on a run to cut the deficit to 23-22 but both teams traded missed serves to close things out, with the Panthers taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-23 set win. 

Avery Johnson had a pair of kills and an ace early in the second set that helped Pioneer gain its 17-9 lead. The Panthers halted the run before Emma Strong put down a trio of aces in a row to knot the score at 23. Both teams traded points before Madison Park tallied two in a row to come away with a 26-24 set win to tie things 1-1.

Just as she did to get the Cardinals back in the match in the second set, Marte opened the third set with a big run in the service station to put Madison Park in control. 

Leading 3-2, Marte went to the service station and the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run thanks to five aces, giving the visitors an 11-2 lead. The Panthers were unable to recover, with the Cardinals running away with a 25-8 third-set win to take a 2-1 lead. 

With its back against the wall, Pioneer recovered and got out to a quick start in the fourth, as Jacobia Tyminski and Aiden Wall each put down an ace to give the Panthers a 9-4 lead. 

Madison Park hung around and like it seemed to do all match, came up with a run to go back in control. This one happened midway through the set, where after falling behind 15-11, the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run behind three kills from Caicha Dalembert, three aces from Barbara Wilson and a block from Marte to go ahead, 21-16. That run proved to be the difference, as the Panthers couldn’t answer with a run of their own and Madison Park took the set, 25-20, to advance to the Round of 32. 

Johnson finished with three aces and four kills, Tyminski recorded five aces, two blocks and three kills, Strong put down three aces and two kills while Erin Killay came up with 10 digs for Pioneer. 

Even in the loss, Connolly noted how improved her team looked athletically, being able to challenge the ball at the net throughout the match which was something they’ve been working on all season. 

“The girls have been doing a lot of plyometrics,” Connolly said. “We’ve been doing that a lot and their vertical jumps have increased a ton. Their blocks have been unbelievable lately. I’m so proud of them for all the hard work they put in to get here.”