Wednesday, November 16, 2022

The Unicorn, If You Blinked You Missed Her

Melrose had a lot of great players in the past twenty-plus years. Few have outperformed their Unicorn, Gia Vlajkovic.

She wouldn't say she does it alone; it takes a team. 

Here's an argument (Devil's Advocate) for Gia as having the greatest all-around single season ever for Melrose. This is a mouthful in consideration of the multiple past D2 Players of the Year from Melrose. 
  • The "winning" test - Helped lead her teams to two sectional championships...at DIFFERENT positions...setter in 2021 and attacker in 2022
  • Values winning over numbers in team sports
  • The "numbers" test - In the top two All-Time in Melrose single season kills.
  • Plays all-around without a break. She can't conserve energy for attacking.
  • Defends from the back at a high level... 
  • Attacks from both the front and the back row.
  • Has come up big in the postseason
  • Magnificent in defeat to King Philip in state semifinals...greatest losing performance I've seen in twenty years
  • No 'weakness' in any volleyball primary skill - attack/block/serve/dig/set/receive-pass
  • Elite athlete by any measure (strength/power/skill)
  • Hyper-competitive athlete who hates to lose...
  • Deserving of the Triple Crown - All-State/All-Scholastic at Herald and Globe 

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