The ball crosses the net during the women’s beach volleyball semifinal match between Austria and Lithuania at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, June 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Dmitri Lovetsky
SOUTH DEERFIELD – Some of the best high school volleyball teams in Western Massachusetts met at American International College in Springfield on Wednesday to participate in the Pioneer Valley Juniors Volleyball Summer League.
On Wednesday, the league held its final regular season games at the Frontier Regional, with multiple courts playing simultaneously at Goodnow Gym.
With summer coming to a close and the fall season just around the corner, Frontier’s Abigail Hernandez said the importance of the summer league is to get any kinks worked out and be ready to go when the first practices begin in just over a week (August 19).
“Summer league is a time to work out any issues and work toward the fall,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been playing together since seventh grade, but many of us haven’t seen the field much because we had a lot of seniors last year and the year before.”
With four core players from last year’s Frontier team that reached the MIAA Div. 4 semifinals graduating, there are plenty of spots up for grabs this fall.
During the summer, the players who move up to the varsity team can come together and develop the chemistry needed to make another shot at the state title.
“It’s a good time for us to come together,” said Frontier’s Hannah Davis. “When we lose so many seniors, it’s hard to come back and put a team together. We push each other to get better. That’s what summer is all about. You learn your strengths, learn your weaknesses and figure out how to fix them.”
Despite the loss of these older players, the Redhawks are able to improve each year.
“I think we have a lot of rebuilding to do,” said Melanie Ring of Frontier. “We lost a lot of good seniors, but I think we’ll get it done. We get it done every year.”
Frontier isn’t the only power program playing in the PV Juniors League this summer.
Longmeadow, Westfield, Agawam, Amherst, Belchertown, Minnechaug, West Side, Putnam, Springfield Central, East Longmeadow and a team of players from Greenfield, Turners, Northfield Mount Herman and Stoneleigh Burnham make up the 12 teams competing in the Premier Division, illustrating the level of competition from game to game.
“It’s really good to create chemistry before we start,” said Frontier’s Ariana Miller. “A lot of teams from our league are here, so it’s good to compete with them.”
The Green Owls – the team made up of Greenfield, Turners, NHM and SBS players – don’t have the same luxury as other teams when it comes to pre-built chemistry during the high school season. Still, they believe the lack of initial chemistry made them better players because they had to really focus on communication on the court to make sure everyone was on the same page.
“Most of us have played together before in the club season,” said Lexi Short, who attends Stoneleigh Burnahm. “Communication has been a big thing because there are new people there every week. You learn to adapt. But it’s fun to play with new people. It makes you a better player overall.”
“When you’re playing with guys you’ve never played with before, especially as a setter and captain, I have to know how everyone hits,” Short added. “When I don’t know someone, I have to learn quickly. It makes me a better leader and setter.”
While the league is about competition and improvement, it is also a great way to make friends.
“When you’re playing against a lot of different teams at different levels, you have to keep your head up,” said Faline Zinn-Keane, who attends NMH. “Every Wednesday, new people show up, and that’s how you meet new people.”
Vivian Ross, who plays for Belchertown, emphasized how helpful it is to have a summer league before the high school season.
“We’ve been playing for a few years now,” Ross said. “Some seniors started playing and we’ve been able to get more people from our town to play each year, which is nice. It’s a really good way to prepare for the season.”
With no middle school program, Belchertown has used the league to put together a team of freshmen and inexperienced players and compete in the “On the Rise Division,” which Ross said is a great way to develop his skills.
“It was really nice to meet everyone, bring everyone together and see the competition that we’re going to have in the fall,” Ross said. “There’s good competition here.”
The league playoffs are scheduled for August 14 at the AIC.
