Melrose rolled into the Division 2 North finals against a determined, well-coached, defensively-skilled Bishop Fenwick and emerged with a decisive 25-18, 25-16, 25-20 win.
Everyone had a hand in the victory, with a crowd-pleasing, attacking style that had Fenwick on their heels for most of the match.
Fenwick came out of the gate fast, leading 4-1, but Melrose responded with a nine point run sparked by five kills from Sarah McGowan. McGowan was immense in the first set with eight kills. Fenwick got within two at 11-9, but Melrose answered again with an 8-3 run and the Crusaders never got closer than four. In addition to Sarah's exploits, Melrose got steady attacking from Jen Cain, Jill Slabacheski, and a denouement kill from Kayla Wyland with a beautiful topspin kill over the back row.
Melrose trailed at 1-0 and never again in set two. The teams were tied at 2, 4, and 6 for Melrose went on a run sparked by service aces, a pair from Sarah and one from Brooke Bell, to go up 13-7. Fenwick could never get closer than six and Melrose had diversified offense with three kills from Sarah, one from Kayla, Brooke, Jen, and Jill Slabacheski.
The Crusaders came out hard in set three, trying to keep their season alive, leading as late as 6-5 and trailing by only one at 9-8, with Rachel Johnson's return from injury a spark for Melrose with a pair of block-kills, and then the play of the match, with Alyssa DiRaffaele making a diving one-armed save out of bounds, kept alive by Amanda Commito, who deflected it to Rachel whose two-handed bump found a winner.
After Fenwick rallied to 9-8, Melrose went on a 15-5 run led by a 'reheated' Sarah as she went into S-Mack mode with four kills in five points. With Melrose leading 24-13, the team had a little premature celebration, suspended animation, losing seven consecutive points to make it 24-20. Coach Scott Celli took a time out, and an aggressive Melrose attack led to a kill by Jen Cain wiping a block from the strong side and the official celebration was on.
Game Analysis: The Lady Raiders showed up with an "all hands on deck" effort, with contributions all-around. With very few exceptions the Lady Raiders had great communication, very solid serve-receive, and almost no tentative play. Fenwick didn't play badly, but just got pounded by an attacking Melrose offense which struck from everywhere. Melrose's front-row defense benefited from Rachel's return, as her blocking was a game-changer.
Unofficially, the victory marked Coach Celli's 300th career win. We will try to get confirmation.
Melrose will play next on Tuesday at Nashoba Valley (Bolton).
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