Melrose (9-1) reached the halfway mark of the regular season with a straight set victory over visiting Reading (5-5). The sets went to Melrose 25-15, 25-16, and 25-19.
Reading came in ranked 13th in the Division 2 MIAA power rankings (as of 29 September). Melrose sits atop the rankings.
Elena Soukos and Chloe Gentile had key kills in the first set. In the second with Melrose up 19-16, they went "Air Gia" with a pair of skyward kills Gia Vlajkovic from the outside amidst a 9-0 run.
The entire rotation had both hands in the victory, with Ava Burns stepping in for injured Abby Hudson, out with a lower body injury.
Reading has size and excellent coaching but Melrose had too many horses with a diversified offense led by Senior Elena Soukos and an excellent all-around game from setter Emma Desmond.
Reading hung around in most of the sets but Melrose's strong serves and blocking game from Chloe Gentile, Sadie Jaggers, and Gia Vlajkovic proved insurmountable for the Rockets. Soukos and Burns in particular scorched hard-to-hand serves at the Reading back row.
Libero Autumn Whelan anchored the back row but I thought Gia had an outstanding defensive game as well and Ava McSorley also had another strong back row game.
Melrose notes: Melrose heads to Winchester Thursday for their annual tilt with the always tough Sachems.
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