Central Stops Melrose Streak in 5

Melrose came in with a 51 game home winning streak, and Central Catholic came in determined to remain unbeaten, coming away with a 25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 25-16, 15-12 victory.

This morning's keys to victories included great defense, unrelenting offense, and preparation for an extended contest. In large part, Melrose held up its end of the bargain, but fell just short because of the excellence of Central, and a few costly breakdowns. Central was led by its big middle hitter, senior co-captain Corrine Gosselin and sidekick junior Hunter Tuck.

Central got out fast to a 5-0 lead, with Melrose gradually chipping away, until they finally tied the game at 22-22. There were a couple of inexplicable plays, which remain unexplained. Gosselin and Tuck dominated early, and Melrose trailed 9-5, 12-8, 15-12, 19-16, and 22-19. Four costly service errors made the difference, and Melrose also played more defense than offense in the first game. Unofficially Jen Cain and Rachel Johnson both led with a pair of kills.

Game 2 saw the Athena Ziavras show with a variety of smashes, tips, dinks, and dunks. Athena's seven kills went a long way to even the match. Melrose led 5-0, and after 11-8, never allowed the visitors to come within four points.

Melrose carried the momentum into Game 3, going up 6-2, and 10-3, before Central struck back, But Melrose extended the lead to 15-7 and 21-12 before coasting to victory. Unofficially, Melrose added another 10 kills, including another six from Athena and three from Alyssa DiRaffaele.

Melrose hoped to achieve a signature win against a top-ranked Division I opponent, but Central came out on a mission in Game 4. Again the Raiders went up 5-0, and 8-3, with Melrose struggling to get into a rhythm because of Central's overall excellence. Brooke Bell was superb in game four with four kills and Athena added another three kills, but Central dominated.

With the crowd anxious for a comeback, Melrose opened up 5-0 and 7-2 but Central never quit. Rachel Johnson was outstanding at the net, and Athena had another couple of kills early. But the Merrimack Valley co-leaders ran off ten points in a row, largely secondary to Tuck and Gosselin, although setter Bouchard and the rest of her mates deserved plenty of credit. Melrose closed to 12-9, and 13-12, but Central was able to maintain their aggressiveness to the close and seal the victory after taking a late timeout.

Game analysis: Early on, both teams appeared to show some effects of the big game, but as the game proceeded both teams exchanged figurative blows and showed the ability to take a punch. Melrose showed the ability to stay with the Division I power, but couldn't finish them off. Several players came of age during the game, with Athena playing at a high level throughout, and Rachel Johnson went head to head against the taller Gosselin, and frequently battled her to a draw. But Brooke Bell showed terrific skills, including consistent setting, several blocks out of nowhere, and a phenomenal backset kill to a deep corner, a play I have never seen Melrose execute. She and Athena were almost the kryptonite needed to put Central down.

Coach Celli said that he learned a lot about his team tonight, that "they are fighters"...

Great credit goes to Central for their steely determination in game four and a stirring comeback in game five. They played without their other senior co-captain, Kendall Desrosiers, a terrific player in her own right.