Opinions expressed on 'The Blog' are solely mine.
Melrose hosts Marblehead at 5:00 P.M. today in scrimmage two. Marblehead put up a 15-3 regular season record last season in D2.
Scrimmages add competition, coordination, and experience. All are important with lots of moving parts.
Sustainable competitive advantage requires influx of capable young players to complement established veterans. The cycle repeats.
Early season illness for Sadie Jaggers provides a daunting dose of adversity, opportunity for others, and leadership chances.
Scrimmages and practice establish the tentative rotation pointing toward the opener against Woburn on 7 September.
The back row has stability with senior Grace Gentile and a pair of experienced juniors, Maggie Turner and Gigi Albuja.
Junior Leah Fowke has the setter position for now.
The front row has seniors Jaggers and Manon Marchais, both rotational players on last year's sectional titlist. Sophomore Sabine Wenzel is at the head of the line for one middle spot.
Early leaders for other front row slots based on skill and size include junior Sofia Papatsoris and sophomore Emme Boyer.
Another road to the rotation is to become a 'designated server' requiring consistency and the ability to defend. With fourteen healthy players on the roster, that means a lot of competition for that spot. And that's a consequential position with a history, including but not limited to Michelle Foley, Cassidy Barbaro, Leah Fowke, and others.
Lagniappe. Go under the hood with assistant coach Ryan Celli on "Celli Talks Volleyball." In his most recent episode, Ryan shares his volleyball journey and the challenges of coaching identity and work-life balance.
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