CHICOPEE – Amherst girls volleyball head coach Kacey Schmitt was emotional when addressing her team following the Hurricanes’ 3-1 loss against Longmeadow in the Western Mass. Class A championship – the third straight year the two met in the finals – on Saturday afternoon at Chicopee Comp High School.

The ‘Canes had been handled easily by the Lancers in their two previous meetings this season (two sweeps), but they weren’t going to let that happen again on the biggest stage.

Amherst hung toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in Class A. Set scores were 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23. Schmitt’s emotions became prominent because of how proud she was of her team and their effort in search of their second straight Western Mass. crown.

“Twenty-five years of coaching, and I feel like this was the most I’ve seen a team come together,” Schmitt said. “They played above what I expected them to do. I think Longmeadow thought they were gonna come in here and just roll over us, and I felt really proud of the fact that they were so positive throughout the whole match. They gave [Longmeadow] everything they could handle.”

The first point of the match was decided by a Lauren Joy block, and it was a sign of a career match for the senior. Joy blocked six shots and tallied 15 kills – a team-high in both categories – and was the source of energy for Amherst all game long. Annabel Ogden recorded 34 assists as well, doing a great job of setting Joy, Ruby Austin (12 kills), and the rest of the offense up for success.

Schmitt has come to expect these types of performances from Joy, especially when the Hurricanes need her most.

“Lauren is just somebody that scares the other team every time she’s on the front row,” Schmitt said. “They’ve been working a lot in practice on taking the ball away from the middle, away from the blockers, and I thought Annabel did so well setting her up for her quick attacks, and I think every time she’s there, they have to worry about where she’s gonna hit it from.”

Longmeadow erased an 18-13 deficit by ripping off a 9-2 run in the opening frame. The Lancers won the set when Amherst had a miscommunication and let the ball drop in between them. Had the Hurricanes won that point, it would have been 24-24 going into a win-by-two situation.

Instead of letting that miscue determine the rest of the match, Amherst quickly flushed it and moved on.

“The message in-between sets was if we clean up a few mistakes like that, it’s a whole different match,” Schmitt said. “We played with them the whole way through. I just told them to play the way we play other than those few little slips.”

In the second set, Amherst used a big run of its own to come from behind and tie it up. The Hurricanes were down 21-14 and fought to win 11 of the next 13 points in a ferocious closing spurt.

“We went back-and-forth in every single set, and I just felt like we stayed in it,” Schmitt said. “We always talk about bend don’t break. Even when they would get three points on us, we fought back every time. That kind of unity and focus and mental toughness was exactly what we were hoping our kids would have at this point in the season.”

Sets three and four featured more of the same. The third frame was tied 18-18 before the Lancers pulled away late, and no team built a lead larger than four points in the fourth. The entire match showcased the boatload of talent each team has. It was competitive the whole way, and it featured countless long rallies with diving digs and athletic hustle plays to keep the ball alive.

Saturday’s match certainly highlighted the area in a positive manner.

“This was really high-level volleyball for high school, especially Massachusetts,” Schmitt said. “It felt like a California or Nebraska match. It was point-for-point the whole way… It could have gone either way.”

Even with the loss, Amherst continued its impressive title-game streak. The Hurricanes have played in three consecutive Class A finals. 

“For me, to make it to the Western Mass. finals is always great,” Schmitt said. “Of course we would’ve liked to win, but I couldn’t have asked for more from my team. Overall, I’m just really happy and proud of them.”

The Hurricanes (16-5) were ranked No. 4 in Division 3 – after moving down from Division 2 before the season – in the latest power rankings and will host a first-round match once the tournament starts. Amherst seems to be peaking and playing its best volleyball at the right time, and a close contest with Longmeadow (No. 4 in Division 2) definitely gives them confidence rolling into the big dance.

“I feel like we’ve been peaking. We’ve been playing better, and better, and better,” Schmitt said. “We’ve beat teams that beat us early in the season, and we came out and played the best we’ve played all year today. We’re at a point now where I think we’re playing our very best volleyball. I feel like we can make a lot of noise in the tournament, and it was nice for them to know today that there’s more volleyball left to be played.”