Game 6: Melrose 3 Wilmington 0

Melrose hosted Wilmington at the MVMMS Gym and proved inhospitable en route to a 25-12, 25-14, 25-10 victory.

Melrose needed to prepare for a three game road swing next week against Bishop Fenwick, AC, and Stoneham. They tuned up well against the Wildcats with solid play.

They dominated the first set with leads of 6-0 on a Jill MacInnes service run, then led 14-3 and 20-5 along the way. Melrose had 13 kills for the set including four apiece for Sarah McGowan and Jen Cain.

Melrose had a bit of lull in the second set, but four service errors for the Cats cost them an opportunity to close the gap. The Lady Raiders held leads at 6-2, 9-3, and 15-5 before coasting to an eleven point margin. Rachel Johnson and Sarah added three kills, Sydney Doherty and Jen Cain a pair, and sophomore Ashley Harding had her first varsity kill.

Melrose played its best volleyball by far in the final set. After trailing 1-0, they responded with 5-1 and 16-3 leads with liberal substitution to follow. The fans relished the Cain and McGowan show, as Wilmington couldn't catch up to the mustard the dynamic duo provided. Unofficially McGowan had seven kills and Cain a pair, and Sydney Doherty finished the set with a flourish.

Game Analysis: Melrose rolled on with solid front row defense and attacking but struggled a bit with overpasses in the back row. The defense recovered for the third set with dominating play.

Some players look as though they were born with a volleyball attached.
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No doubt about the attention provided to Coach Celli.
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Cain delivers.
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The defense never rests as Jen Cain slips past the defense.
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Wilmington had some height, too.
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Melrose fans left satisfied with a 6-0 start.

Maxpreps.com is out with its enigmatic ranking system. Suffice it to say, strength of schedule has a huge contribution.