Eagles rally for volleyball upset

Jen Rannikko shone for the Easthampton volleyball team upset Wahconah Regional 3-2 in the first round of the Division 3 Western Massachusetts Tournament Friday night in Dalton.

The No. 10 Eagles (16-5) lost two of the first three sets but rebounded to finish the match with a 21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 15-9 victory over the No. 7 Warriors (13-6).

Rannikko finished with 17 kills, five digs and five blocks. Julia Volpe added three kills, 10 digs and three blocks for Easthampton, and Rebecca Lambert pitched in with eight digs, two aces.

"It's a big win for us. It's a big confidence booster because we struggled against big teams in the first round in the past three years," said Easthampton coach Molly Jacobson, who is in her third season. "A win like this will help us to continue on."

The Eagles return to Berkshire County when they face No. 2 Lee (18-0) in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Monday.

Monument Mountain 3, Belchertown 1 - Amy Rumanowski's seven kills were not enough to get the No. 13 Orioles (10-11) past the No. 4 Spartans (16-4) in Great Barrington.

Monument Mountain won the first round match in the Division 3 Western Massachusetts Tournament 25-6, 25-15, 17-25, 25-17.

"Everyone was nervous," Belchertown coach Scott Poulin said. "That's the problem with only three returning players, only one of which had playing time. The fourth game was tooth-and-nail all the way until the end."

The loss marked the final game for Orioles seniors Kate Dougherty, Nicole Dufresne, Tamara Tierney, Chelsea Allen, Khailee Beach, Alicia Stenuis and Emily Thornton.

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