Melrose hosted AC before a large crowd at the Middle School Gymnasium and departed with a 25-11, 25-17, 25-18 win. The victory moves Melrose to 9-0 and sets the stage for a big road contest Monday at Central Catholic.
The Lady Raiders came out fast, opening up 3-0 and 7-1 leads before AC could begin counterpunching. The lead expanded to 16-6, and AC got within 19-11 before a closing run with Jill MacInnes serving captured the win.
Melrose had eleven first set kills, including five for Sarah McGowan, three for Rachel Johnson, and a pair for Jill Slabacheski. Melrose also had six aces including three for Alyssa DiRaffaele.
The second game began as a mismatch, with Melrose going up 7-2, 13-3, and 20-7. Body blows, and some hard rights had AC taking a standing eight count. But Melrose seemed to lose a little focus with the lead and the heat, and AC scored eleven of the final sixteen points. Sarah had another three kills amid balanced scoring.
The third game was the most competitive, although not close. Melrose led 5-nil, but AC rallied to lead 7-6. From there, Melrose went on a 10-6 run to open the lead, only to see point alternation to 23-18. Melrose finally closed it out with a pair of kills, a big diagonal kill from Rachel Johnson and an outside smash from Jen Cain. Sarah had four more kills, and Jen and Rachel added a pair apiece.
Game analysis: Coach Scott Celli went with his front-line troops with only one game where the starters got much time for a week, and the team played aggressively offensively. With 31 kills for the match, Brooke Bell piled up the assists, and Melrose has expanded its jump servers to three.
The Melrose-Central rivalry is an intense, yet friendly one, and both teams will come loaded for bear.
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