All opinions expressed within are solely those of the author. They don't reflect opinions of the City of Melrose, the Melrose School Department, or the Melrose High School Athletic Department.
"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Teddy Roosevelt
How would one select a historic twelve? Examination of the history of anything suffers from memory, "era effects," supporting cast effects, recency bias, anchoring, and endowment effect.
Evaluating our children subjects us to fatally flawed bias. So, I'll leave Karen and Paula out of the discussion other than saying they were part of the "First Dynasty" the threepeat of sectional championships from 2003-2005.
Any discussion of elite Melrose players starts with D2 All-Scholastic Players of the Year - Hannah Brickley, Brooke Bell, and Lily Fitzgerald.
Listing All-State players doesn't help much because there have been so many (17). Seventeen doesn't fit into twelve.
Focusing on recent years, we have the "Third Dynasty" with consecutive Final Four appearances. You never win a sectional alone although I recall Melrose nemeses like Fairhaven's Kara Charette and Medfield's Barrett sisters. Amidst recently luminaries Elena Soukos (2021) and Gia Vlajkovic (2021-2022) stand tallest.
The "Second Dynasty" featured a State Championship (2012) and a four-peat of sectionals from 2009 through 2012. It could have been longer, because Central Catholic thwarted Melrose twice in sectionals before reassigned to Division 1.
The beginning featured Hannah Brickley and her incredible run of All-State performance three years running (2007-2009). Fair or not, I view her as the "Queen of Melrose Volleyball." She was a victim of Central Catholic excellence. As was Colleen Hanscom, another player who won both volleyball and basketball sectionals as seniors, and like Hannah, earned Melrose Athletic Hall of Fame entry.
The latter stages of the "Second Dynasty" belonged to the 2012 quartet of future All-Staters - Bell, Sarah McGowan, Jill MacInnes, and Allie Nolan. That omits the up and down roster contributions from "The Great Wall" uber-blocking duo of Rachel Johnson and Kayla Wyland, the brilliant all-around play of Jen Cain who played D1 volleyball at Merrimack, or the underrated defensive excellence of Amanda Commito.
Study Amanda's defensive body of work to learn the position. She didn't get a lot of awards, but earned an ML All-Star and a state championship medal.
And that leaves us to a few deserving additional mention. Emma Randolph made it to a state final, earned All-State recognition, and led all Melrose attackers in kills - by a wide margin. Numbers matter.
Any All-Time team I'd assemble includes Victoria Crovo, the "V-Rex." Victoria, like many past 'middles', played all-around. She probably could have played middle linebacker or safety for Coach Morris, too, in her favorite sport. She embodied toughness, ferocity, and leadership. Regardless of her statistics (they're great), she'd belong on my team as a Captain.
Check out the defense at about 4:30.
This omits other All-State players and All-World teammates over two decades of observation. Even then, without watching video, you forget how terrific these players have been.
Challenge yourself to study and to learn from great players past and present.
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