Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Photographs courtesy of Don Norris. 

Melrose came in heavily favored over Longmeadow, based on rank, strength of schedule, and performance (losing only three sets all season...to Newton North).  But Longmeadow remained unperturbed in taking the Lady Raiders to four sets...25-17, 24-26, 25-19, and 25-10 in their first state championship game.

One of Melrose's advantages was the blocking tandem of Rachel Johnson (5) and Kayla Wyland (15). Coming out of a sickbed with illness, Wyland goes high to stuff Longmeadow's star hitter Jen Hurwitz as Middlesex League MVP Brooke Bell looks on.

Melrose got off to its customary slow start, trailing 5-2 early in a set marred by service errors by both teams. The Lady Raiders rallied to lead 6-5 and were tied at six, before going up 9-6 with a Cassidy Barbaro ace and a Sarah McGowan winner. The Lancers never got closer than two thereafter, with Melrose going up 15-10 and 19-11 en route to an easy first set win.

Sarah McGowan had three early kills and Rachel a pair.

But Longmeadow came out energized for set two and quickly assumed a 6-0 advantage forcing a time out. Melrose closed to within 6-4 on a trio of Johnson smashes, as Rachel had five kills in the frame. But Longmeadow roared out to a 14-5 edge, a hole from which even the eventual state champions couldn't recover.

Melrose chipped away and facing disaster at 23-18 and 24-21, rallied to tie the set with a Johnson kill and a Longmeadow error. But Hurwitz found the corner and a another winner gave Longmeadow a tie at one set apiece.

Melrose seemed determined to reverse their fortunes in set three, leading 3-0, 6-2, and 11-5. But most of the early points came on Lancer errors, and they rallied from 13-6 to 13-10. But even as Melrose struggled to find its footing, they never allowed Longmeadow to get closer than three, abetted by two late service errors and three Barbaro aces in the set. Melrose managed only six kills for the set, a pair apiece for Sarah, Rachel, and Jen Cain.

Just as they had a week ahead against AC, Melrose got their game faces on for set four, and steamrolled the West regional champ. Melrose led 6-1 with three quick Cain kills, and then led 10-2, 13-4, and 18-6 and the crowd knew that Melrose had staked a claim to the title. Jen Cain and the rest of the seniors took over, as Cain had five kills, with help from Sarah, setter Brooke Bell, Rachel, and Kayla who simply took over.

(J-Mac made fewer spectacular plays today, but almost all the routine ones at libero).

The back row of Amanda Commito, Jill MacInnes, and Allie Nolan kept Longmeadow from scoring and either the Melrose offense, fatigue, or the increasing pressure of trailing late saw Longmeadow hitting a lot of shots into the net.

At 24-10 a Jen Cain tip found daylight and hundreds of Melrose fans celebrated the first trip of the championship trophy to the second smallest city in Massachusetts.

Game Analysis: Senior leadership, championship expericence, and more offensive guns (McGowan, Johnson, and Cain in particular) made the difference today. Cassidy Barbaro, with another monster serving day, also played a key role.

Coach Scott Celli knew when to lighten up and when to apply the whip to get high levels of play.

Longmeadow gave Melrose a taste of its own medicine (deep pushes to the corners), but the Lady Raiders simply had too much after they regrouped after a second set letdown.

It wasn't always the prettiest volleyball that we had seen against Central Catholic, Westborough, and Canton. But it was more than enough to bring home the title.