Melrose hosted Burlington to complete the homestand, coming away with a 25-11, 25-15, 25-23 victory. The Red Devils made a lot of plays and made the Lady Raiders work for the win.
The opening set saw Melrose go out fast, up 4-1 and 9-3, with a bevy of kills from Sarah McGowan and Jill Slabacheski. Burlington never got closer than four again (at 10-6, 11-7, and 12-8) and Melrose showed offensive efficiency with thirteen kills including five from Jill, three from Sarah and a pair apiece from Rachel Johnson and Jen Cain. This was not exactly a preview of subsequent action. For trivia buffs, Melrose started with a trio of southpaws on the court, setter Brooke Bell, defensive specialist Amanda Commito, and opposite Kayla Wyland.
Burlington struck back in set two, making plays to go up 4-2 and 5-3. A Melrose timeout settled the action with the Lady Raiders going up 6-5, but Burlington fired off an eight point run to go up 13-6, dreaming about an upset.
But Melrose had other ideas, with a mega-run to follow, led by Amanda Commito's fourteen point service run. This triggered a span with eight kills in thirteen points including four from Sarah and a pair from Jen and Brooke Bell. Melrose coasted in with eleven kills for the frame, riding a 19-2 closing run to win.
The third set had a see-saw battle early with Burlington up 4-2, a tie at 5, 6, and 7, and another long Commito service run from eight to nineteen (12 points). Reminiscent of a game at Reading in 2002, Coach Scott Celli gave the second group extended play, and the lead evaporated and the Devils tied the score at 23. Rachel Johnson came up with a key kill at the penultimate point and served out the match for the win with an ace.
Rachel had four kills during the set, equaling Sarah's four, while Jill Slabachesky, Jen, and Brittany Adelman all had a kill apiece.
Game Analysis: Area high school volleyball tends to be a sport with the haves and the have nots. Burlington raised their game today, had some excellent outside hitting in particular, AND most important never quit, a credit to their players and coaching staff. Melrose had superior talent, home court advantage, and better defense, and even without their "A" game, had enough to move to 5-0. A pair of big service runs by Amanda with Sarah and Jen profiting at the front made the difference. Jill had a big first set in particular and Rachel Johnson came up big down the stretch to ice the Devils.
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