Scrimmage Action

Digging drills.

The Lady Raiders hosted the Andover Lady Raiders at the Melrose Memorial Veterans Middle School as they work toward their season opener.

The original opener, scheduled for Friday at Lexington has been postponed due to environmental issues at Lexington high School.

Andover brought a young team to Melrose, as they graduated eight seniors from last years' team.

Coaches Celli and Wall experimented both offensively and defensively, varying the serve receive formation and substituting liberally while the team gained valuable experience as they point to the regular season.

All-Scholastic Hannah Brickley led Melrose with an assortment of kills and blocks, with effective assistance from a host of teammates. Colleen Hanscom got quite a workout chasing first passes, and in addition to the powerful hitting of Laura Irwin, the team showed hitting promise from Junior hitters Siena Mamayek and Annmarie Wiesen, and Sophomore Athena Ziavras.

Jess Farr and Kelly O'Neill led the defense, assisted by Alex Harlow and Allie Walsh. For Melrose to get back to the state championship, they will need outstanding libero play, as all the championship teams who have beaten Melrose deep in the tournament (Marlboro, Case, Medfield) have done so with superior defense against Melrose's hitters.

As a result of the postponement, Melrose will open the season next Monday, the 8th at Wilmington.