Melrose Travels to Winchester Tomorrow

Melrose (1-0) opens Winchester's season tomorrow at Winchester High School at 4:00. Winchester has become a perennial first division team within the Middlesex League. They have brought in outside coaching to improve their skills in the past and have an increasing presence in area volleyball camps and off-season club teams. In other words, they have built a solid program using the infrastructure available.

What to Watch For:

Serving - Melrose served at a low 90 percent in the home opener. Normally, Melrose is up around 94 percent, which can be important in close games.

Offense: The Lady Raiders made real gains in offensive coordination during the second and third sets. Melrose looks to establish an offensive rotation with the Kiddie Corps (freshman and sophomore attackers) accounting for 18 kills in the first match. Melrose Coach Scott Celli (photo above) made some subtle offensive adjustments and personnel changes generating a higher attack efficiency. The offense will be a work in progress for awhile.

Road Warriors: Melrose had a tremendous crowd for the opening match, not quite at playoff levels, but well over 200 spectators. Will the faithful turn out on the road, especially with the suboptimal 4:00 start times this season?

Photograph courtesy of Don Norris (who also co-authored this piece from the Melrose Mirror)