Melrose put on a road show for the first time during the regular season, and emerged as queens of the court with a hard-fought straight set victory over Bishop Fenwick. Fenwick came in with an athletic, experienced team and promised to provide a good challenge for the young Lady Raiders.
Game one started out as a seesaw affair with the teams tied at 6, led by aces by Jill Slabacheski and Brooke Bell and an Athena Ziavras kill. Melrose then broke open the game with an Athena service run of eight points, highlighted by dominant offense with five kills in eight points, highlighted by a trio by Alyssa DiRaffaele, and one each from Jill and Athena.
Fenwick was able to close to 15-12, but Melrose used another service string to run off half a dozen points, including three aces by Alyssa to go up 21-12. Alyssa put the cherry on top of the sundae with a kill to close it out 25-15.
Melrose had eight kills, five aces, and only one service error for the game, with Alyssa leading the way with four kills.
Game 2 saw a resolute Fenwick rally from a 5-2 deficit to go up 9-7. Melrose continued to show offensive diversity with kills by Brooke, Athena, Jen Cain, and Alyssa during the early going. Fenwick never quit, tying the contest at 9, 12, 13, and 14 with spirited and athletic play. But Melrose got its offense into high gear, closing with eight kills in the final eleven points, going on an 8-1 run from 14 apiece to put the game out of reach. A dink by Brooke at 18-14 was a huge point. The Bishops got within three at 23-20, but kills by super sophs Brooke and Rachel closed it out.
Melrose had 12 kills in game 2, including five from Athena, three from Brooke, and a pair from Rachel, with again only a single service error.
Bishop Fenwick had every bad intention as host for the third game and put up a tremendous battle. The game was tied at 2, 3, and 10, before Fenwick went up 14-11 with great offense, although Melrose didn't allow a ball to hit the court. They could never extend the lead beyond three points, and Melrose knotted the stanza at 16 with a pair of Athena aces.
The game saw ties at 17, 18, and 19, before Melrose's offense assumed control, with four kills in five points, including a pair apiece from Rachel and Athena to go up 24-20. The hosts never quit, but Melrose's strength up the middle brought home a 25-22 victory.
The Lady Raiders had nine kills in game 3, including three apiece from Athena and Rachel and again a lone service error, and three for the match.
Game analysis: Strong teams complement solid offense with relentless defense, and Wednesday Melrose had its best defensive show of the season. Toss in the diversified offense and the maturing offensive presence of Rachel with the veteran leadership of Athena, Alyssa, and Jill, and Melrose remained unbeaten.
The Lady Raiders travel to face long-time Middlesex League rival Reading in a key match.
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