LONGMEADOW – Although No. 6 Longmeadow was two points from sweeping Frontier on Monday night, the Lancers understood anything was possible.
Despite one final timeout called from the opposition, Anthony Jackson responded with one of his two aces to rise Longmeadow’s faithful to their feet.
And then Kean Jarvinen recorded the game-winning block to seal the Lancers’ 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-20) win against the Red Hawks inside Robert M. D’Agostino Gymnasium.
Longmeadow improved to 8-4 behind its seventh sweep victory of the season to keep itself ahead of Springfield Central (4-1) with an undefeated record of 5-0 in the East Standings.
“I think it’s essential to take every game one at a time,” Lancers coach Patrick Curry said. “But I think being strong in our league is also awesome.
“Moving forward won’t be easy because we’re scheduled to face Putnam Tech, Frontier, and Springfield Central again.
“It would be awesome to remain undefeated in our league. But as long as we do our jobs and be where we’re supposed to be, then maybe we’ll be crowned the league champions.”
Nate Rivera paced Frontier with 12 of his team’s 26 kills as the Red Hawks (4-7) bid farewell to their previous two-game winning streak.
Tegan Dexter finished with nine kills and 11 digs, while Tavo Vincent-Warner recorded 23 assists and four digs.
Despite the positive outcome, the Lancers circled around each other on the court afterward to do a plank exercise.
“Our goal was to only allow Frontier to score 18 points in the third set,” Jarvinen said. “But since they scored 20, it’s our job to do that many seconds of planks together.”
But instead of viewing the exercise as a punishment, players, coaches, and even surrounding parents believe these moments will only strengthen them mentally and physically as the season moves forward.
“We lost a lot of players last year,” Jarvinen said. “So the rebuilding process has felt like more of a brotherhood than last year. And you know everyone got each other’s backs, even if you’re not playing.
“You know you’re hyping the teammates and what it’s all about.”
Jarvinen started the first set with one of his two aces to move Longmeadow ahead. Though the Red Hawks scored four late points to keep things interesting, the Lancers emerged victorious behind a final score of 25-10.
Nhan Vuong paced Longmeadow with 28 assists and six kills, while Christopher Bousquet was next with eight digs and four assists.
The second set told a different story, though, as William Petrin (two kills, one dig, and one assist) pleaded with his Frontier teammates “to earn one point at a time.”
The message was loud and clear as Vincent-Warner located Dexter for a one-handed slam to move the Red Hawks ahead halfway through the frame.
But the momentum was short-lived, as the Lancers recorded an impressive behind-the-back pass to even the score at 20-20 before another timeout was called. After the brief discussion, both teams went back and forth.
Despite a combined block along the left edge between Jonathan Olvera and Will Reading to momentarily move the road team ahead, Longmeadow came from behind and scored three consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Colten Messenger and Vuong’s set-winning block can be seen here.
The Lancers continued to take advantage of Frontier’s miscues in the third, as they took an early five-point lead. But Frontier refused to surrender, as Dexter recorded his lone ace to cut his team’s deficit to 11-8 halfway through.
Moments later, though, Longmeadow’s bench reminded its teammates on the court to not “get lazy because we have the lead … it doesn’t mean we’re gonna win!”
Despite the inspiration, both teams continued to trade momentum. Late in the third, though, the Red Hawks took advantage of multiple opposing miscues to make it a two-possession game.
But it wasn’t enough, as the Lancers held on to sweep Frontier for the third consecutive time.
The Red Hawks’ schedule doesn’t get easier since they are scheduled to welcome No. 9 Southwick on Wednesday at 6 p.m., while Longmeadow will travel to face No. 2 Westfield on the same date at 5:15 p.m.
