Local high school runners have once again shifted to the oval following an exciting cross country season as the indoor track schedule has begun with the PVIAC’s weekly meets kicking off on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Smith College’s Indoor Track and Tennis Complex will once again host the competitions that feature teams throughout western Massachusetts. Meets will take place on the weekends, either on Saturday or Sunday, until the MIAA postseason commences in early February.

Here’s a closer look at all six area teams:

Amherst

The Hurricanes should be contenders once again this winter. The girls squad lost a fair amount of talent from last season, but as the cross country season showed, runners are always waiting in the shadows to step up for Amherst.

Ololara Baptiste returns with the most accolades for the ‘Canes girls as the junior was part of the state-championship winning 4×200-meter relay quartet last year. Ella Jamate (mid-distance), Juliana Albo (sprints, field events) and Genevieve Dole (long distance) will round out Amherst’s depth.

The boys will look to see continued growth from Nico Lisle (mid-distance) and Wesley Dunford (field events) this season.

Northampton

An encouraging cross country campaign should carry over into the indoor season for the Blue Devils, who bring back some skilled athletes.

Mairead O’Neil will be the catalyst for the girls team as the reigning Western Mass. cross country champion will attack the mile and 2 mile events for Northampton this winter. Ella Hoogendyk should collect plenty of points for the Blue Devils in field events as the senior will compete in the long jump, high jump and 600. Maddalena Figueroa-Starr (mid-distance, long distance) Maya Zink (long distance) and Allie Sullivan (sprints, field events) are other athletes to watch.

The boys team’s strength will reside in the long distance events, led by Gus Frey and Henry Daggett as Northampton’s 2-milers. Kai Webster (mid-distance) is another name to keep an eye on for the Blue Devils.

Holyoke

Yasani Thompson brings back a winning pedigree to the Purple Knights’ girls team this winter as the defending state champion in the 300. The senior will also strive to qualify for the New England Championships, according to fifth-year head coach Matt Benoit.

Seniors Ryan Kennedy (short, mid-distance) and Jaybriel Rivera Soto (short distance) will carry the Holyoke boys.

Frontier Regional

Expect the Redhawks to be in and around the top of the Valley North standings as both the boys and girls teams have impressive athletes sprinkled throughout their rosters.

The Frontier boys have a pair of seniors in Luke Howard (long distance) and Adrien Pazmandy (sprints) that’ll acquire the bulk of its points. Last season, the Redhawks won the league title after going 13-0. Head coach Walter Flynn enters his fifth season at the helm.

The Frontier girls have a near even split between returners and newcomers this winter. Maddie Antes, Julia Morse and Ashley Rivard count as the Redhawks’ senior class, while the Flagollet sisters (Emmanuelle and Louise) highlight their new runners. Louise Flagollet was Frontier’s top cross country runner on the girls team this past fall.

Head coach Bob Smith, who is in the midst of his 47th season leading the Redhawks, feels experience and team pride are the strengths of this year’s team, while sprints will be an area to grow.

Hampshire Regional

The Raiders girls have a handful of distance runners that’ll secure plenty of points this winter. Brooke Hockenberry, Charlotte Letendre and Kathleen Barry all earned first or second-place finishes at the first PVIAC meet.

Hampshire’s boys trio of Aidan Conklin (mid-distance), Owen Cubi and Oscar Schiff (both long distance) will surely be athletes to keep track of for the Raiders.

South Hadley

The Tigers may not have the high-end talent as some of the other Hampshire County teams, but both boys and girls teams have several athletes who will hold their own on the oval.

Grace Cooney and Margaret Healey raced well in the first PVIAC meet and will anchor South Hadley’s girls’ distance crew.

For the boys squad, Matt Gillis (sprints, field events) and Trevor Sullivan (long distance) are two Tigers athletes who can make an impact this season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jamie Morrison was confident for good reason.

The Texas A&M volleyball coach saw greatness in his team before its stunning run through the final two weekends of NCAA Tournament play. As underdogs by seed in each of its last four matches, A&M dispatched three No. 1 seeds consecutively, culminating Sunday with a three-set victory against Kentucky at T-Mobile Center.

The Aggies won 26-24, 25-15, 25-20 to take home their first national championship in women’s volleyball. They are the 13th program in 45 years to hoist the trophy.

A&M’s quartet of All-Americans led the way again. Logan Lednick paced the Aggies with 11 kills. Kyndal Stowers added 10. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla notched eight kills and four blocks. Setter Maddie Waak dished out 29 assists.

Morrison, the third-year A&M coach, came to Aggieland in December 2022 as the centerpiece move of former athletic director Ross Bjork as part of an effort to “strategize differently and envision a new approach” as volleyball emerged as a rising sport nationally.

In his first collegiate head-coaching post, Morrison directed A&M to the opening round of the postseason tournament in 2023, losing at Texas, the eventual national champion. The Aggies fell in the round of 16 a year ago against perennial power Wisconsin.

A&M entered regional play in Lincoln, Neb., as the No. 3 seed, but Morrison said that he and the Aggies weren’t scared of elite competition. They won the final three of five sets in a reverse sweep against Louisville to stay alive, then pulled the upset of the season in defeating No. 1-ranked and previously undefeated Nebraska in a five-set thriller.

By comparison, the Aggies’ first Final Four was a walk in the park. They swept Pitt, another top regional seed, on Thursday. And on Sunday, A&M made fast work of the lone remaining No. 1 seed.

The Aggies trailed throughout much of the first set, and by as many as six points. Down 18-12, they used a 4-0 run capped by a Stowers kill to get within two points for the first time since it was 2-0. The Aggies tied it for the first time at 20 on a block of Eva Hudson and won the opening set on another Stowers kill.

They did not trail in the second or third sets. The championship point came on a kill by Cos-Okpalla.

In this all-SEC final, the title was a second for the conference. Kentucky won the league’s first in the 2021 spring season, moved from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A&M avenged an Oct. 8 defeat in College Station. Kentucky had lost previously this season only against Nebraska and Pitt.

It was a big day for the Big Blue Nation as the Kentucky Volleyball team played Texas A&M for a National Championship in Kansas City. In the first-ever all-SEC championship match, the Cats got swept as they fell 3-0 to the Aggies.

The Cats came out hot, leading the majority of the first set by five or six points, as they put the Texas A&M squad on their heels.

However, coming out of a time-out, the Aggies’ defense flipped a switch, and they never looked back. Whether it was in the block or in the outside hitting, Craig Skinner’s squad could never quite get into rhythm, ending a special season for the program in Lexington.

With this, we will say goodbye to one of the best players to wear the UK jersey in Eva Hudson. It was a special season for the Purdue transfer that came up just one win short. However, the Cats could return the majority of their roster next season, setting up for another special run in 2026.

It stings now, but it was a fun season.

KANSAS CITY – The third-seeded Texas A&M Aggies battle the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball national championship game today – Sunday, Dec. 21 – at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The match is available on multiple streaming services for free.

Today’s match will broadcast live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. Eastern (2:30 p.m. Central). Fans who have parted ways with their local cable provider can catch this game for free by utilizing streaming alternative DIRECTV, which offers $40 off your first month and a free trial. FuboTV is also offering $25 off your first month and a free trial.

The most flexible option is Sling TV, which now offers new users a Day Pass for $4.99, Weekend Pass for $9.99, Week Pass for $14.99, Monthly for $45.99 and Season Pass for $199.99 for five months and $45.99 per month thereafter.

This game is also available on the ESPN app streaming service, which now offers an Unlimited Plan for $29.99 per month (or $299.99 for entire year) and the Select Plan for $12.99 per month (or $129.99 for entire year). The ESPN app replicates its previous coverage of select games and broadcasts on ESPN Plus.

Texas A&M’s (28-4) miraculous run to their first-ever national championship game continues after sweeping top-seeded Pitt in the Final Four. They toppled the No. 1 overall seed Nebraska Cornhuskers in a five-set regional stunner that sent shockwaves across the brackets.

Texas A&M is highlighted by nine seniors on its roster.

They hold the edge over Kentucky in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, aces per set and blocks per set.

Maddie Waak dished out 48 assists, which was a postseason record in three-set matches.

Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky combined for 30 kills in the Final Four triumph.

The Aggies’ defense will also be on display at the pinnacle. Texas A&M has notched 10 or more blocks in six straight matches. Ifenna Cos-Okpolla has tallied five or more blocks in 19 matches this season.

Watch Texas A&M vs. Kentucky NCAA volleyball for free on FuboTV

The Wildcats (30-2), who have not lost since early September and are riding a 27-match winning streak. Their mettle was tested with a five-set win over Wisconsin in the Final Four. Their only two losses are from top-seeded Nebraska and Pitt.

Kentucky is looking for its first title since winning it all in 2020.

The Wildcats hold the edge in kills per set, assists per set and digs per set.

Eva Hudson, the 2025 SEC Player of the Year, battered the Badgers with a career-high 29 kills on .455 hitting. Brooklyn DeLeye, the 2024 SEC Player of the Year, is averaging a team-high 4.62 kills per set this year.

The Wildcats hold a 17-10 advantage in the all-time series, but the Aggies are 2-0 when facing Kentucky on a neutral court. Kentucky holds momentum, taking the last four matches between the two SEC foes, including a four-set victory in their last meeting.

Today’s game marks the first-ever All-SEC national championship game in NCAA women’s volleyball.

Watch Texas A&M vs. Kentucky NCAA volleyball for free on DIRECTV

More information on how to watch the match on TV and streaming services:

• What: NCAA Division I women’s volleyball national championship: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Texas A&M Aggies
• When: Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025
• Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern (2:30 p.m. Central)
• Where: T-Mobile Center | Kansas City, Mo.
• Channel: ABC
• Best streaming options: FuboTV (free trial and $25 off first month), DIRECTV (free trial and $40 off first month) and Sling TV (half off first month and daily, weekly and weekend passes) and ESPN Streaming