Game 1: Melrose 25-23, 25-18, 25-22*

*Unofficial statistics courtesy of Dick Collis

Melrose opened up the 2013 campaign with a hard-fought victory over Catholic Central League opponent Arlington Catholic at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School Gym.

Melrose broke out of the gate quickly with a 2-0 lead with freshman Victoria Crovo getting her first varsity kill. But AC struck back scoring eight of the next nine points to take an 8-3 edge. Melrose had trouble establishing any offensive consistency early with only a pair of kills among their first eighteen points.

But the Lady Raiders defense gradually asserted itself, with libero Jill MacInnes the best player on the floor, but huge contributions from seniors Maave Moriarty, Alyssa Abbott, and Cassidy Barbaro. Their defense and passing allowed Melrose to creep back into contention, with the deficit shrinking from 14-9 to 14-12 and finally getting even at 19. AC managed to work a lead to 23-21, but four consecutive Melrose points with a kill from Allie Nolan the key at 23 all.

Melrose had much improved offensive play in the second set, as AC seemed to have a bit of a
momentum deficit after set 1. Melrose went out to a 5-0 lead including kills from Allie and Victoria. An AC timeout stopped the run, but Melrose extended the lead to 11-2 including a pair of blocks from Victoria. But AC gradually responded, cutting the lead to 18-15 as Melrose's offense became passive. But counterattacks from sophomore Marissa Cataldo and Meri Lessing, along with a pair of aces by Maave finished the Cougars at 25-18 in the second frame.

Melrose had twelve kills and four aces in the set.

In the third set, Coach Celli debuted some of Melrose's youngsters, with Cat Torpey and Hannah Mulcahey both getting their feet wet. Allie Nolan had two big kills to spark the offense and both Cat and Hannah recorded their inaugural varsity points.

AC went up 3-2, only to see Melrose break back to 6-3. Marissa add a pair of kills, as did Hannah, along the way as Melrose saw its 12-8 lead erased to 13-12. But Melrose rallied to go up 16-14 with a pair of Abbott aces, and from 16-15, Cat scratched out a trio of kills including the game winner from the strong side finding the donut in the middle of the AC defense.

Melrose had fifteen kills in the third set, closing out AC 25-22.

Game analysis: Melrose's first game of the season showed expected growing pains in communication and coordination. You would expect that with a young team with an entirely rebuilt front line.

On the whole, the back row controlled the game defensively and passed well, helping Allie Nolan have a strong game both setting and hitting '2s'. Nolan brings a different offensive dimension with her hitting and blocking potential.

Melrose's young guns, sophomores Marissa Cataldo and Hannah Mulcahy, and frosh Victoria Crovo and Cat Torpey unofficially had nine kills in the third set and fifteen overall. Their play challenges all the attackers to step up their game and should provide a bright future for Melrose's volleyball offense, supplementing Annalisa's strong offense and Stephanie Crovo's blocking.

All opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own, and do not reflect those of the coaching staff, players, or Melrose High School.