SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier girls volleyball team wanted to challenge itself early in the season to prepare for tough league matches like the one it played on Monday against Amherst. 

Facing Dennis-Yarmouth, Nauset, Westfield and Melrose to open the campaign, Redhawks coach Courtney Parent — taking over from longtime coach Sean MacDonald — was able to experiment with lineups, and found one that seemed to work. 

That showed against the Hurricanes, as Frontier took the opening set and was able to pull away with a 3-0 victory at Goodnow Gymnasium in an Eastern League contest. 

“Today boosted our confidence a lot,” Parent said. “As a team, we’ve been on a little bit of a rollercoaster. We talked about it and it’s no secret we’ve had a hard schedule. I like that because it prepares us for what’s to come at the end of the season. Amherst always gives us a tough battle so that was a great 3-0 win for us."

Parent wasn’t the only coach on Monday tasked with taking over for a legend at their school. 

Amherst coach Eliza Grose is replacing longtime Hurricane coach Kasey Schmitt this fall, and Grose said she was proud of the fight her squad showed on Monday. 

“I think it was a great game,” Grose said. “We got really good at getting out of our own head and being resilient after the second set. We continued to be aggressive when we were down. I’m proud of them.”

Amherst never gave up, as Ella Austin caught fire in the service station before Ruby Austin and Keira Cunniffe each put down a pair of kills, helping the Hurricanes cut the lead to 24-23. Frontier was able to get the ensuing point, however, to go up 1-0 with a 25-23 set win. 

Set two belonged to Frontier. Leading 5-4 early, the Redhawks went on a run with Abby Hernandez in the service station to go ahead, 12-4. Olivia Machon put down three aces late before Hernandez smashed a kill to close things out with a 25-12 set win to put Frontier ahead, 2-0. 

Amherst flipped the switch in the third set. The Hurricanes raced out to a 6-0 lead with Kiko Bhowmik in the service station, but Frontier battled back. 

Hernandez took over midway through the set, scoring four kills in five points to give Frontier a 16-15 lead. The Hurricanes went back ahead after a Rosalie Davis ace to go up 18-16 but Redhawk Bailey Martin followed with three kills that gave Frontier a 21-18 lead. 

A Martin killed closed out the match, giving the Redhawks the win with a 25-20 set triumph. 

“The girls had to grind it out,” Parent said. “We gave up a lead in the first set and I told them we can’t keep doing that because we won’t win games that way. I’m proud of the girls for winning that set and winning it in three. The opening games we struggled to finish sets so that was great to see.” 

Hernandez led the way with 11 kills and four aces, Martin added seven kills, Parrish Stilla had 22 assists and three aces while Arianna Miller added five kills in the win. 

“I want to see these girls keep improving,” Parent said. “I have 10 seniors, five juniors and a sophomore on the roster. It’s crazy to think about what I have. If I could play everybody, I would. Truthfully, all 16 of them work so hard at practice and make my decision hard. They’re a great group of kids and they feel like a second family.” 

With a brand new team, Grose was proud of the effort her squad has shown through the early portion of the season. 

“We lost 10 seniors last year and have a whole new coaching staff,” Grose said. “It’s very different but I’m proud of them.”