Lady Raider Comeback Grounds Generals, 3-2

Melrose raised its record to 7-1 with a heart-stopping five game win over Hamilton Wenham this afternoon.

Hamilton-Wenham brought a new coach who replaced Jill Pasquarelli, and a new attitude to the Roosevelt School Gymnasium today, as the Generals (5-3) came in loaded for bear. HW got off to a slow start, but using their superior height to slow down Melrose with double blocks, captured Game 1, 25-21.

Melrose inserted freshman Hannah Brickley into the lineup for Game 2, and she energized the lineup with several key blocks leading to kills, slowing down the Generals' offense. Melrose held a six point lead late, surrendered it, but came back to win it 26-24.(MELROSE) Freshman Hannah Brickley contributes to the Lady Raiders' 7-1 start.

Unfortunately for the locals, Melrose couldn't carry the momentum into the third game, as HW dominated throughout, continuing to block Melrose's outside hitters, frustrating Melrose. HW won Game 3 handily 25-18.

But turnabout was fair play, and Rachel Towle (over 20 kills for the match) came back with a vengence in the fourth game, leading the Lady Raiders to a commanding 25-16 win, with total points even at 90 after almost an hour and a half of volleyball. Lauren Howe made her presence known with some strong kills during the game.(MELROSE) Rachel Towle warms up before today's game.

The deciding and fifth game is fifteen points, making getting off to a good start crucial. HW got the opening point, and the teams traded points to 2. Nicole Glavin then had a nice service run to 5-3, but again the teams went into back-and-forth mode, with HW gaining the edge 11-10. At eleven, Rachel Towle took over with three consecutive kills, powerfully smashing down and across the court, before scoring an acrobatic overhead from a nearly impossible angle to put Melrose up 13-11. At thirteen, Hannah Brickley came up big with a vital kill, and Melrose subsequently closed out the match.

Melrose's perseverance overcame several areas where the team struggled today, with an unusual number of missed serves, and chaotic back row defense, partly caused by the HW height and power offense. Today's victory pleased Coach Celli who noted how the championship teams can win big games even when they're struggle in some facets of the game.

Lady Raider Notes. Melrose travels to Andover Thursday to meet the Division I powerhouse Warriors, who finished as runnerup to perennial champion Barnstable last season. Last season the Lady Raiders seized a five game victory in one of the signature victories of Coach Celli's and the program's history.

The JV played hard in today's action, but lost a three game struggle to their counterparts from HW.