Crowd Pleaser, Melrose 3-0

The Lady Raiders hosted Lexington, a Middlesex League team with just one league loss and came away with a lopsided 3-0 victory at the Middle School Gym.

Melrose gets enthusiastic crowds who enjoy watching good volleyball, with exciting defense, crisp passing, and power hitting. Today, that wasn't seen in abundance, amidst officiating conferences, rotation questions, and near maximal time out deployment.  Still, Melrose played more efficient and proficient volleyball in earning their seventh victory against no losses.

This week is particularly important for preparation for quality opponents Arlington Catholic (Saturday) and Central Catholic (Monday).

Game one saw some early tug of war with a 3-3 tie, which Melrose extended to a 9-4 lead highlighted by a pair of kills by Alyssa DiRaffaele. After Melrose led 15-7, Lexington could never pull closer than six points as Melrose won 25-11.  Melrose utilized 9 kills including three each for Alyssa, Jill Slabacheski, and Rachel Johnson. The only downer came from three service errors.

Game two was close early, with the visitors leading 8-6, before Melrose turned it on. Melrose then went on a 12-3 run to put the Lexington volleyballers at bay, closing them out 25-13. Athena Ziavras and Jill each chipped in with three kills, while Rachel and Brooke added a pair apiece.

Game three was pretty much more of the same, as Melrose struggled to get into a rhythm at times, because Lexington had such inefficient offense.  Melrose led 6-2, 12-7, and 18-8 en route to a 25-12 thrashing.  Athena had four kills along with Alyssa, and Rachel added a couple as well.

Jill made perhaps the defensive play of the year, diving out of bounds and swatting a 'chicken wing' return over the net into an opening in the surprised Lexington defense for a kill.

Game analysis: Melrose played a more coordinated, crisp game than they did on Friday, with the biggest problem a lack of flow, as Lexington's offensive attacks repeatedly sailed out of bounds or into the net. In particular, the defense from Alyssa and setter Brooke Bell excelled. Although Melrose dominated play, the match still took about seventy minutes as officiating questions and timeouts prolonged the play. Overall the process improved and the results corresponded.