The kids are alright. #3 Melrose hosted the Round of 16 and outlasted #14 Dartmouth 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, and 25-23. Melrose raises its record to 18-4.
The win advances Melrose to the Elite Eight to face the winner of Wakefield at Canton.
Dartmouth split their series with two strong programs (Barnstable and Joseph Case) and had a playoff sweep against Marblehead in the round of 32.
The match seesawed all night as both teams punched and took punches.
Melrose had a quick start and then Dartmouth fought back. Offensively it was Elise Marchais plus the sophomore "A team" of Adriana (Santoriello), Alisa (Dautovic), and Amelie (Johnson) generating offense.
At 25-all in set one, Sabrina McArt finds a seam for a winner. Then Anna Burns serves and Dartmouth makes an error for the set.
Trailing 3-11 in set two, Elise responds with a kill at the net.
Melrose rally notwithstanding Dartmouth captured the set.
Melrose jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in set three, followed by a lengthy delay (more than ten minutes) while officials ruled on the "two libero" rule.
Leading 12-7, Melrose creates separation on a Dartmouth error then a pair of Alisa kills. Melrose largely controlled the action and won by four.
The final frame promised to be a donnybrook in an "elimination game." Again it was back-and-forth with Melrose leading 19-17 and 23-21 at which junctures Dartmouth timeouts slowed the rally.
With Melrose leading 24-23 after a Dartmouth service error. Elise Marchais served for the match.
...and ended it.
Analysis:
Everyone did their job. Both teams struggled at the service line at times, and both made spectacular defensive plays to keep the action alive.
Timely offense, solid defense, and aggressive served the "team win" agenda. Stalwarts Sadie Smith (setter) and Anna Burns (libero) had strong games. Burns earned some extra time, split with Gen Overlan. Sabrina made some big blocks at the net.
Melrose notes:
Classic playoff matchup with two 'legacy programs', big crowd, and highly competitive match.
Neither team would have "lost" as much as one team made more plays during crunchtime.
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