Melrose hosted Newton North, which defeated Barnstable last week. The Lady Raiders started slow, responded to adversity, but came up a little short, losing in 5 sets to the Tigers.
Before the game, two junior varsity players received promotions, Amanda Cain and Merry Lessing.
Senior Night recognized the Melrose Seniors, which may be the first group to win at least 20 games in every season. Particularly touching was Amanda Cain's tribute to her older sister, Jen.
The Tigers brought a plethora of talent of their own, led by Keane Brazda, a Division I volleyball signee, and terrific hitters on both sides.
Melrose struggled off the bat, as their passing was inconsistent, resulting in too many free balls and not enough attacks. When they did, only Kayla Wyland was consistently putting the ball in play as she had two first set kills.
North led 5-1, 13-5, and 19-8 before Melrose established a counter-attack, closing to 23-16 before losing 25-18. Melrose had only four kills.
The second set gave Melrose another shower of adversity, as North went out to an 11-4 lead, before a Bell service run and North attack errors brought Melrose back. The game was tied at 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 as Wyland, Annalisa DeBari, and Sarah McGowan found the range with kills. The Tigers then opened up a 21-17 lead only to see Late kills from Rachel Johnson, Brooke Bell, and a pair from Sarah turn at 23-20 deficit into a 25-23 set win. Four McGowan kills were critical.
Melrose continued the momentum into set three, after ties at three through seven. A six point Jen Cain service run opened a 13-7 lead and the Tigers never got closer than four at 16-12 as Melrose won 25-19.
Melrose fired in fourteen kills, with five for Sarah and a pair apiece for Rachel, Annalisa, and Kayla.
Although Melrose took a quick lead in set four at 3-1, they couldn't sustain the advantage as North went up 7-4, 11-6, and 15-8. A Scott Celli timeout couldn't stem the tide, and Melrose never got closer than three as the Tigers took set four 25-18.
Four McGowan kills and a pair from DeBari highlighted the frame.
Set five saw Melrose take the first two points, with a DeBari block-kill followed by a McGowan kill. But North answered with leads of 5-3, 6-4, and 8-5 at the break. Melrose got within one at 8-7, and got a tough break at 12-10 when McGowan wiped a block and the ball was called out. Melrose followed with a pair of points to bring it to 13-12, only to have a monster Brazda kill open the lead, only to see Melrose hit into the net to give the Tigers (17-1) the victory at 15-12.
Game analysis: Through much of the match, Newton North's powerful offense limited Melrose's attack. The Lady Raiders did not bring as much passing or attack consistency as customary, and few players had their 'A' game. I felt Kayla Wyland had one of her best games as she continues her upward volleyball trajectory. Melrose showed that they can play with anyone, but needed to make a few more plays to take home the 'W'.
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