Game 8: Melrose 3 Wilmington 0

Melrose continued its home stand with an enigmatic 3-0 win over the Wilmington Wildcats, 25-20, 25-16, 25-12. The win extends Melrose's streak to eight and keeps them undefeated.

Nobody plays great every time out, and Monday's action was no exception.

After last Friday's inconsistent win over Stoneham, Melrose came out uncharacteristically slow, falling behind the Cats 3-0, 9-4, and struggled to find a rhythm, trailing 20-16 late in the match. A late surge behind strong serving of Marissa Cataldo propelled Melrose to a finishing nine point run.

Unofficially, four kills from Hannah Mulcahey (a victim of my spelling errors) and three from returning Meri Lessing spelled catnip for the visitors. Melrose overcame three service errors.

The second stanza resembled Major League Baseball, with a lengthy delay related to the officiating interpretation of rotation errors by Melrose. This reversed a opening Melrose 11-2 salvo to 6-3 and did nothing to energize the Lady Raiders. Wilmington managed to even the score at 6 and 9, before Melrose asserted themselves behind a flurry of late kills, finishing with a 12-5 declawing.

Meri Lessing again showed no ill effects of absence, with six kills, abetted by good play by Marissa (two kills), the Crovo sisters (Stephanie and Victoria) with four kills, and excellent setting by Allie Nolan. Meri also excelled at the net. Unofficially Melrose had fourteen winners in the frame.

Unfortunately, unlike in the NFL, there is no official explanation for the rulings or time delay. This is not a criticism of the officiating as much as for the time required for the glacial Goodellian 'get it right'.

Melrose restored order in the final set, leading early, 5-1 and 11-4, and never allowing the Wildcats to get a bite of the hosts. Melrose extended the lead to 18-8 and sprinkled in reserves to close out the win.

Victoria and Stephanie each had three kills, and Marissa had a pair to highlight the action. Ashley Harding served exceptionally well down the stretch, and the overall team play showed more consistency with relentless attack and stout defense.