Game 17: Melrose 3 Frontier 0

Melrose (16-1) hosted the Frontier Red Hawks in a major intersectional 'friendly'. Melrose players were not happy with what they saw as subpar performance against Wakefield and showed it with a 25-20, 28-26, 25-17 win.

Both teams seemed tight early but as play proceeded the quality of play improved as expected. 

Frontier had a dominant outside hitter, Jillian Apanell, who came in with 206 kills (4.0/set) and a .244 hitting percentage. They also had an outstanding libero and solid setter, but not as much overall offensive force as Melrose. 

After an exhausting second set win, 28-26, Melrose came out flat for the third, trailing 6-1. A Scott Celli timeout energized the team and the key play of the match, a brilliant dig by Autumn Whelan turned the match around. The play occurred with the score 7-2 and from that point Melrose outscored Frontier 23-10 to seal the match. 

Here's the play, trimmed from the MHS-TV YouTube feed. 

Once again, it was a total team effort led by Elena Soukos, aided by contributions from numerous teammates with Ava Burns outstanding at opposite, solid work in the middle from junior Chloe Gentile and sophomore Sadie Jaggers, and hitting from junior Gia Vlajkovic. Abby Hudson's return has added serving stability, and there's plenty of defense from Autumn, Ava McSorley, and Emma Desmond. 

Melrose notes: The game had a playoff feel to it with a pair of strong teams and an enthusiastic crowd.