Sustainability

"I finally got to the end of the dictionary. Turns out the ZEBRA did it." - Steven Wright

Melrose reached the end of the regular season with an upset by Burlington, exploratory surgery versus Wilmington, and a Lazarus act against Central Catholic. 

Teams succeed at the intersection of senior leadership, ably provided by Elena Soukos, Autumn Whelan, Abby Hudson, and Ava Burns, and sustainable contribution from young players. 

Freedom Division MVP Elena Soukos' contribution can't be overstated as she is a surefire All-State and consensus All-Scholastic player. But the next three leaders in kills - Chloe Gentile, Gia Vlajkovic, and sophomore Sadie Jaggers - are all underclassmen. Jaggers is also one of the top sophomore blockers in Melrose history. 

Serve receive is critical and again two underclassmen - Ava McSorley and Gia - are on the list, with others such Emma Desmond and sophomore Grace Gentile likely to move up the list in the postseason. 

The top three assist leaders - Emma, Gia, and Ruth Breen - are all juniors. 

And there have been years when freshmen, notably Hannah Brickley and Victoria Crovo, have been among the top players on the roster. 

That doesn't diminish pivotal play from seniors. Last night Elena delivered 21 kills and Abby 11, Autumn had 20 serve receives, and Ava went 20/20 on serves. It just illustrates the impact on sustainability from juniors, sophomores, and sometimes freshmen. 

And opportunity follows "dynamic production." When you are productive, your role expands. 

Last night against Central, five players had at least five kills and Melrose needed the enormous contributions of Elena and Abby. 

The fifth set begins at 1:39:20 and at 1:39:35 junior Chloe Gentile deflects a winner in a crafty, athletic play. 

At 1:40:36 Chloe wipes the block on a quick set to put Melrose up 4-0. 

She follows that up at 1:41:19 crushing an overpass. 

And at 1:43:29 Sadie smashes the short set for a winner to put Melrose up 7-3 amidst some service struggles.

Sustainable success requires contributions from across the whole roster. The ability to show up and practice hard, amidst little or no playing role and recognition, makes the "game rotation players" better. Being a great "practice player" who sharpens defenders with hard serves may not earn accolades, just wins.