Instant Karma

Successful teams and successful players make adjustments. Melrose had issues last week with serve-receive and generating enough offense. Perhaps the team had simply gotten 'stale', which can happen.

Coach Scott Celli realigned the rotation, moving Alyssa DiRaffaele to libero, as she has excelled in the back row. He transferred Sarah McGowan to the front row, where she has the athleticism and temperament to "hit out". And he transferred Sophomore Kayla Wyland to the front row opposite, where her length provides additional blocking.

The results? Melrose generated more attacks and looked more 'comfortable' against visiting Winchester, leading to a 25-11, 25-7, 25-6 victory. Highlights? There were plenty, including McGowan's double digit kills, solid defense from libero Alyssa, and only one service error for the match.

Melrose took awhile to get comfortable in set one, trailing 6-4, as Winchester's Sam Mangano had a few early successful attacks. But from there on, it was all Melrose, with 16 kills and a 21-5 run to close the game. Athena Ziavras and Jill Slabacheski each had four kills, and Sarah and setter Brooke Bell each added a trio.

Melrose went out 10-1 in game two and never looked back. They had another nine kills and with Sarah with five, Athena 3, and Kayla a pretty topspin attack.

The third stanza proved equally lopsided, as Melrose ran off twelve points to begin, and led 18-1 en route to the 25-6 differential. Brittany Adelman got a huge ovation for her first appearance of the season as she returned from injury, and chipped in with solid back row defense. Melrose had another thirteen kills, and the team walked off with a win and some renewed confidence and a little extra spring in their step.

Game Analysis: Winchester's program has advanced quickly, built on competent defense, while they groom some young attackers. Melrose never stopped hitting as Coach Celli's challenge to his attackers to step up their game went fulfilled today. Sarah McGowan's eleven kills and solid attack percentage made a difference offensively, and focusing Alyssa on the defensive side improved the first pass, and that facilitated a big day for Brooke on the assist side. Melrose may not have had its 'A' game, but the performance created something to build upon going into the final quarter of the regular season.