Melrose (10-0) and Central Catholic have a hard fought competition dating back a decade. Both teams have had their share of bragging rights, with Central (as a Division 2 North champion) a major obstacle for Melrose from 2006-2008.
Central remains a power in the North, having lost a tough 3-2 match to Maxpreps.com number 2, Andover.
But Melrose left no doubt tonight, as the homestanding Lady Raiders took control early and never let up, winning 25-17, 25-18, and 25-18.
The first set saw foreshadowing, with Melrose capturing the first three points, the first on a Brooke Bell kill and the next two from Sarah McGowan. Melrose would use that combination to near perfection.
Central evened the score at 4, 7, 8, and 9 before Melrose took control. Melrose never stopped attacking en route to seventeen first set kills. From nines, Melrose went up 13-10 and 16-12. McGowan fired in seven first set winners, ably abetted by Jen Cain with four and Kayla Wyland and Rachel Johnson with a pair apiece. From 20-16 Melrose went on a final surge with closing kills from Johnson and Cain to close out the frame.
Central went out quickly in set two with the first pair of points. Melrose followed with a Jill MacInnes service run, expanding a lead to 7-2, with five consecutive McGowan kills bracketed by Bell and Wyland.
Central came back into the match, trailing only 10-9 before Melrose again pulled away, keyed by kills from Rachel and Sydney Doherty to lead 16-11. A timeout got the visitors closer at 16-14, the momentum doused by a Central service error. At 20-17 Melrose got another critical kill from McGowan (eight for the set) and closed with combined Johnson-Wyland 'roof' to wind it up.
Good teams never quit, and Central has athleticism, height, and determination. Melrose surged to an early lead 3-0, but Central responded with ties at 4, 5, 6, and 8 before Melrose went up 9-8 and never looked back.
A Cain attack followed by a Wyland block put the Lady Raiders ahead 12-11, and Melrose went up 15-10 only to see Central creep back to 15-14. But Melrose capitalized on some great passing from the back row keyed by Allie Nolan, Jill MacInnes, and Amanda Commito to take eight consecutive points for a commanding 23-14 lead. Appropriately enough, Sarah iced the game with her eighth kill of the set and twenty-third of the match.
Game analysis: Melrose combined senior leadership with relentless attacking, superior blocking from the Johnson-Wyland-McGowan trio, and crisp passing from the back row. Combine outstanding setting from Brooke Bell (leading to 48 kills) with the high attack rates generated from all of Melrose's hitters and you create a quality win.
Melrose showed great composure in a rather business-like approach to a big game.
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