12 - 3. After First Set Defeat, Melrose Stuns Previously Undefeated Winchester 3-1

Signature win. Statement game. Stamp. Every teams wants to carve out a place of its own. The wins and championships of previous teams belong to the collective. Your wins are your pelts on your horse. The Lady Raiders added that pelt tonight. 

Maxpreps.com provides an Orwellian nightmare for the Sachems. Winchester fans were under the impression their undefeated streak remains intact. But Melrose handed the experienced, senior-laden visitors their first loss with an 18-25, 25-11, 25-15, 25-16 comeback win. 

The first set saw competitive volleyball early with ties at 1, 2, 3, and 7. Melrose went up 10-8 only to see the Sachems climb back in and overtake them at 15-14. Melrose edge back up 17-15 with a flurry of Victoria Crovo kills, but at 18-16, Winchester ran off nine straight to gain early control as Melrose seemed tentative. 

But what a difference a set makes. Melrose led early 6-2 as both teams had a pair of service errors, but at 6-4 Melrose went on an 11-2 tear to shake Winchester's confidence and lead 17-6. The visitors never got closer than 22-11 as Victoria (4 kills unofficially) and Saoirse Connolly (three) hammered home winners. 

The seeds of doubt that Melrose sowed in set two sprouted in set three, with an early 7-3 lead, extended to 17-6 and 20-8. Winchester picked up some steam with five straight points trailing 22-10, but Crovo and Lydia Lombardo finished with kills. Lydia and Victoria each had four kills, Cat Torpey three, and Saoirse a pair in the 25-15 win. 

Winchester had a final chance to try to hold onto the Middlesex League lead in the fourth set. The Sachems tied it at three after Melrose opened with a trio of points including a brace of kills by Cat. With Melrose leading 8-6, the Lady Raiders applied the 'coup de grace' with an eight point service run by Lydia to lead 16-7. Winchester got as close as 21-16, but with strong service action and a late kill by Saoirse, Melrose emerged with a hard-fought victory. 

The win moves Melrose into a first place tie. Winchester remains formidable with size and experience. 

In addition to strong work up front by Victoria, Saoirse, Cat, Lydia, and Julia Symonds, Melrose got stout performance in the back by libero KMac (Kaitlyn MacInnes), Jill Mercer, and Katie Donovan. And as always, Lily Fitzgerald provided great sets and tough 'D' as the quarterback of the offense. 

Maxpreps has corrected the Score Box and Standings...

Burlington lurks close by. 

Box score provided by Dick Collis.