Game 8: Bedeviled; Burlington 3 Melrose 2

Melrose hosted Burlington (7-3) and the Red Devils earned a hard-fought 25-22, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 15-5 victory over the Lady Raiders (7-1).

Burlington parlayed aggressiveness, hard hitting, hard service, and better blocking into victory. 

Coach John Wooden had a saying, "don't whine, don't complain, and don't make excuses." Melrose has the opportunity to translate lessons into upcoming matches...next up, Frontier on Saturday. 

The Lady Raiders struggled with consistency throughout the first half of the match. They turned that around in set three and four with better overall play. Middles Emma Randolph and Emily Hudson picked it up, and Mary Kate Mahoney moved up to the front for a trio of kills. Nicole Abbott, Erin Torpey, and Mary Kate fended off a slew of smashes from the Burlington attackers and Leah Heafey had success on the service line. 

Grace Davis and Sofia Centrella held their own on the outside and Mary Maher contributed solid defense in the back row. 

Lady Raider Notes: In many sports, with relatively equal talent levels, aggressiveness informs the outcome. Young teams can struggle to maintain aggression under pressure. That is a process. 

Trust the process.