One Game

One game does not define a season. MVB expected a grinding, tough game against Belmont and got precisely that.

Let's focus on some positives:

1) Caroline Higonenq (14 kills per Boston Globe) and Emme Boyer (key kills in crunch time in both the first and second set) both met high expectations as the duo seeks to fill the shoes of Sadie Jaggers. The fourteen kills established a career best for Caroline.

2) When MVB needed to rise up in the tiebreaker, it played its best volleyball, making plays. 

3) After the road opener in 2023, MVB was 0-1 and erased the sting of that loss yesterday. 

4) Both sophomores, Maggie Shoemaker and Anna Burns (both 'sister acts' of prior MVB contributors) got varsity exposure. 

5) Leah Fowke delivered a consistent, clean performance at setter. 

Give Belmont credit for strategic attacks on the Melrose defense which will improve over the season with more defensive coordination. 

MVB Notes: Melrose debuted new uniforms for the 2024 campaign. Whether that impacted their performance is unknown. Attendance was good for the home opener, always encouraging. 

The JVa team showed some size, athleticism, and playmaking and several look as though they could push for varsity action later this season. Former Boston Globe reporter George Frazier wrote about "duende" and several players might have it. Why it matters.