Back on Track, Melrose 3 Stoneham 0

A blog for fans of Melrose volleyball. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Melrose traveled to Stoneham and left with a solid,  aggressively-played win 25-14, 25-18, and 25-22.

The Lady Raiders had choices after the defeat Monday, feel sorry for themselves or come out and play aggressive, attacking volleyball in preparation for moving forward. They came out with great energy and advanced to 17-1.

Stoneham came in at 10-6 and in the top 20 of the Boston Globe poll. Melrose came out of the gate fast with an Alyssa DiRaffaele ace, and quickly led 4-1. Stoneham never held the lead in set one, although they got within one at 9-8. From there, Melrose had a 15-3 run to put the Spartans behind the 8 ball. Coach Scott Celli moved Sydney Doherty to opposite and she attacked forcefully from the outset and as a group, the servers came out with more heat.

Melrose had thirteen kills in the first frame, led by Sarah McGowan with five, Jen Cain with four, and Rachel Johnson with three.

The second set again saw a quick Lady Raider lead at 5-1, before the Spartans rallied to tie at 6. From there, Melrose led 8-6, and Stoneham was never able to get the equalizer, moving to within 15-12, only to see Melrose run them down with a 10-6 finish.

The Lady Raiders drilled in another dozen kills, including four for Sarah, three for Jill Slabacheski, and a pair apiece for Brooke Bell and Jen.

Good teams never go away easily, and Stoneham hung in there during set three. Stoneham had early leads at 3-1 and 8-5, but Melrose chipped away to go up 10-9, only to see the Spartans strike back to 12-10. But Melrose had a seven point run to go up 17-12 with a DiRaffaele service run, and fought off Stoneham challenges at 18-16 and 24-22, with a Doherty smash falling in for the win.

Melrose had fifteen kills in set three, with Sarah adding seven and Sydney, Jen, and Brooke a pair apiece.

Game Analysis: Coach Scott Celli has always striven to produce championship quality volleyball teams combining talented players with good process. Ultimately, a coach's choices come down to personnel, strategy, and motivational changes.

In the wake of a tough loss to Westborough, the analysis provoked a need for increased offense, the ability to play aggressive, attacking volleyball from more angles. The team played more aggressively today, with more challenging serves, more willingness to attack consistently, and to attack from more angles. The result was a convincing win against a solid opponent.