Dani DiGiorgio doesn't say much; she makes plays.
In this clip (start at 1:11:48), she makes a brilliant "pancake dig" but Melrose can't rescue the point, despite help from her friends.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
The High Value Person*
*Adapted from my basketball blog.
You may not know of Ernie Adams, the man called "Belichick's Belichick." Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's partner, was "Buffett's Buffet."
Munger who recently passed at age 99, emphasized character and decision-making. Steve Burns wrote a lengthy piece on Munger which I've shortened.
Munger's principles work for volleyball and life.
1. You Focus on Deserving What You Want
Success is a choice and work is the entry fee on that path. You get what you earn.
2. You Are a “Learning Machine”
Become a lifelong learner. Munger says that he has never seen anyone succeed who doesn't read. Become a reader if you're not.
3. You Actively Try to Destroy Your Own Ideas
Why am I wrong? What am I missing? Self-assessment of both our creative and critical selves can only help.
4. You Prioritize “Not Being Stupid” Over Being Brilliant
“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” — Charlie Munger.
5. You Know the Exact Edge of Your Competence
Know our "Circle of Competence." Increase it. Leverage it. And avoid straying from it. In life, we need a plumber, an electrician, a "car guy" and other specialists for projects outside our circle.
6. You Guard Your Integrity Above Everything Else
Buffett said that success intersects with energy, intelligence, and integrity. And without integrity, the other two are dangerous.
7. You Refuse to Work For or With People You Don’t Respect
Reputation is what people think we are. Character is who we are. If we work with people we don't respect, what could possibly go wrong?
8. You Have a Long Attention Span
Part of success is the ability to sit in a chair and do the work. Flitting from project to project never works well. Focus is a superpower.
9. You Actively Filter Out Intense Ideology
Think about "inversion," the opposite of an idea. Intense ideology limits flexibility, critical thinking, and active questioning of alternatives.
10. You Reject Envy, Self-Pity, and the Victim Mindset
If being a high value person is about what we bring to a team or a group, how could envy, victimhood, or feeling sorry for ourselves benefit others?
Lagniappe. Master self-control.
Shaping the Right Stuff
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "Basketball isn't about running plays; it's about making plays." Many plays shaped "got to have it" moments in 'available' video.
At 2:15:29, Duxbury serves 24-22 with double "match points."
First, Sabrina McArt supplies craft over power at the net.
Continuing the play, Sadie Smith makes the situational dig of the year, extending the match for Amelie Johnson to "rainbow" a kill over the Dragon defense.
Third, at 40:32 in the first set, Duxbury staged an early rally from a 7-2 deficit. Melrose leads 9-8. Adriana digs a tough serve, Sadie sets Alisa Dautovic, who delivers a kill off the block. "Stops make runs."
Fourth, at 47:30 Melrose exerts force with Dani DiGiorgio digging a near-certain point, allowing Sadie and Alisa to convert another lost point into a winner.
Fifth, set two, trailing 5-3 at 57:43, sport rewards extraordinary effort. Dani with another "dolphin dive" turns an ace into a Melrose point. Modern women's sport reveals skill and athleticism.
Sixth, set four, trailing 19-13 Melrose needs playmakers. At 2:04:19, Sabrina McArt and Amelie leverage timing, technique, and athleticism with a key block.
Seventh, trailing 23-21 at 2:14:36, Melrose works to avoid going to match point. Adriana with an excellent dig, Duxbury keeps the play alive, and Elise "hits through" and scores. The "will to hit" inhabits the hearts of competitors.
Many more plays showed the grit of both teams. Regrettably, the video ends at 7-8 of the fifth set.
"Adversity Is Your Companion"
Appreciate adversity. Failure shares feedback. "This is who we are" and "That is how we respond."
Volleyball informs a near-infinite set of variables. A ball ticks over the net, a block barely lands out, a float "knuckles" at the last minute and finds a point. You control none.
The Dodgers came off two consecutive World Titles with a massive payroll and hubris to match.
Three of the four MLB finalists appeared in the bottom 12 of payroll. The Dodgers had over twice the payroll of the Brewers. "Money can't play."
Consider great leaders like Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln. Mandela suffered 27 years of imprisonment and Lincoln lived crippling depression, "Lincoln's Melancholy," to become who most historians consider a nation's greatest president. You've heard about Wilma Rudolph, born prematurely, later with crippling polio, told she likely would never walk, and won three Olympic Golds in sprinting in 1960 at Rome. Maya Angelou recovered from childhood abuse and mutism to become one of America's great literary voices.
Hyperbole, thy name is blogging. Comparing a couple of volleyball wins under adversity to legendary historical figures ranges far over the top. A relevant quote, "Sports doesn't build character; it reveals it."
Rolling over opponent and opponent would be great. MVB doesn't bring that overwhelming size or talent to the court. At times, the lineup looks like 5'8" clones carved from the same marble. Often, that's enough with "No mind."
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Learn Every Day
Adapted from my basketball blog.
Vision into Action pic.twitter.com/sr0y8UY1xx
— Always Keep Learning (@AlwaysKeepL) August 31, 2026
Coach Nick Saban asked, "Are you spending your time or are you investing it?"
Ordinary actions (reading, exercise, nutrition, thinking) create extraordinary growth.
Our attitude, choices, and effort define our progress.
James Clear described a friend who writes three pages a day - resulting in publishing three books annually.
Kobe Bryant took a thousand shots a day during his offseason, fashioning a top ten career.
Larry Bird shot five hundred free throws daily before school and became one of three members in the 50/40/90 club along with Steve Nash and Kevin Durant...not too shabby for an OG.
What's our learning framework for basketball or another sport?
Dr. Fergus Connolly favors:
- Skill
- Strategy
- Physicality
- Psychology
Boost skill with deliberate practice, ideally against competition. "Repetition makes reputations."
Enhance basketball IQ with reading, clinics, and video study. "Video is the truth machine."
Become more physical with regular strength, conditioning, and recovery. "Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care." Remember that sport rewards athleticism.
Raise your resilience with mental reps and a mindfulness practice. "Have you taken even one mindful breath today?"
Commit to daily improvement...like Kevin Durant, who wakes and asks, "How do I get better today?"
Lagniappe. Purpose.
“The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge.”
— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) August 31, 2026
— Aristotle
Three-quarter Pole and Duxbury Stats
Melrose completes the 75 percent mark of the regular season with a quality road win at Duxbury.
Record
Total 12-3
ML12 7-3
Ranking
Only the MIAA power rankings matter for seedings, matchups, and sites. It's unlikely that MVB can move into the three slot and seems likely to fit into Division 2 from four to six.
Remaining Schedule
This week Melrose hosts a pair of solid clubs, Wakefield and Marblehead. The focus shifts to Wakefield which knows Melrose well.
Trending
The operative word for MVB is distribution. They have distributed leadership with strong coaching and captains. They have distributed scoring (three double digit kill attackers today), service points, receives and digs, and a top three Melrose All-time setter (my opinion). I thought Sadie Smith partly willed the team to win today.
Perspective
A viable argument says that MVB 26 is the polar opposite of MVB 25. The former gets scoring from the pins, the middle, and even the pipe. Serving is better, pin blocking is better, and defense is more experienced. MVB 25 relied on heliocentric gravity from Sabine Wenzel who established the single-season kills record, surrounded by a talented but inexperienced cast.
Health
Bumps and bruises accumulate over the season. Losing Ella Friedlaender to injury hurt. Everyone hopes her recovery postop goes as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Others have recovered; another theme is "no excuses."
Summary
Skill, luck, and health all compound to create opportunity. The "Anson Dorrance" term for the final stretch - continual ascension.
Game 15: Melrose 3 Duxbury 2
Matinee idols...
Melrose faced the dragon's lair, escaping with a 25-17, 17-25, 26-28, 26-24, 15-7 win in Duxbury. Only a ferocious comeback in the fourth set fashioned the improbable win.
The win over the MIAA D2 7th-ranked Dragons (11-4, power ranking 3.22) raised Melrose's record to 12-3.
Melrose raced out early with superior offensive and defensive volleyball and captured the set handily.
Duxbury returned the favor in the next stanza, with improved defense creating better offensive chances. The hosts left no doubt that MVB was in for a long afternoon.
Duxbury held an edge for most of the third set until Melrose tied it late at 22. With Melrose leading 26-25, they had a chance to close out the set but an attack soared long and Duxbury capitalized with the 28-26 set win.
The Dragons continued their dominance into the middle of the fourth set. A Scott Celli timeout trailing 13-19 allowed Melrose to rally. Melrose narrowed the gap, but Duxbury regained a big edge to 17-22. Melrose went into high gear at that point with a combination of big plays and Dragon errors. Melrose managed to even the score late on an Amelie Johnson "rainbow" kill to the corner and held serve to win 26-24.
The fifth set brought more of the same. Melrose took a 3-0 lead and a Duxbury timeout shaped a counterattack. Teams traded points and Duxbury held a 8-7 edge at the break. But Melrose knotted the score and rode an Elise Marchais service run to a lead. With the score at 12-9 (IIRC), Johnson delivered another dagger to go up 13-9. Melrose scored again followed by a Dux rally to 14-11. Sabrina McArt, who was immense, delivered the final point off a perfect quick set by Sadie Smith, and the ball fell harmlessly to earth.
Both teams continually refused to yield as much of the second half played under narrow margins.
Melrose overcame adversity with aggressiveness and grit, as MVB struggled a bit with consistency under Dragon service pressure. Once again, attack distribution among Elise, Adriana Santoriello, Alisa Dautovic, Sabrina, and Amelie kept Duxbury off balance.
Liberos Gen Overlan and Anna Burns faced down many tough attacks along with DS Dani DiGiorgio.
Melrose notes:
Coach Scott Celli described a "great win" in postgame comments. The adversity overcome on the road by his young but experienced team marked another signature situational win.
Former Melrose setter Amanda Labella (MVB 2003) was in the crowd with her daughter Bella.
Stat Leaders
"There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics." - popularized by Mark Twain
Massachusetts Leaders
Kills
#36 Elise Marchais
Assists
#9 Sadie Smith
Digs
#71 Anna Burns
Team Leaders
Great Speeches Series
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization.
Every day offers an opportunity to "prove it."
Empower yourselves. Show up. Show out. Bring the receipts.
The words “woman” and “women” do not appear in either the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution. Do you believe that is either an accident or an oversight?
In 1851, the former enslaved person, Sojourner Truth, spoke truth to power with this brief speech. Kerry Washington shares a dramatic reading of "Ain't I a Woman?"
Friday, October 16, 2026
One Word Changed Everything for This Coach
Coaches lead, teach, and organize. Most of all they model excellence.
Just as we want our teams to be worthy, set standards for ourselves.
The Celtics' Joe Mazzulla said the word that got his attention was "Dad," as Deuce called for Jayson Tatum.
Positivity. No one shapes a positive life from a negative attitude.
Enthusiasm. Nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm.
Values. Teams' play should reflect shared values - competitiveness, preparation, unselfishness, unity, resilience, gratitude, sportsmanship, humility.
Excellence. Bring the best version of ourselves at home, school, work, and play.
Consistency. Bring the same attitude, quality decisions, and effort daily. Dad had a saying, "Street angels, house devils." Don't.
What do these share? They mirror The Fourth Agreement, "Always do your best." Fans respect a team that reveals the character of their community.
The Training Environment*
*Adapted from my basketball blog
"In life and in sports, I have always believed that one of the most important decisions you can make is: Choosing your surroundings in terms of people and environment." - "Habits That Make A Champion" by Allistair McCaw
Our environments shape us. In Freakonomics, readers learned that one of the prime educational factors was the number of books in the home. Exposure to books impacts childhood learning.
Our training environment matters...the culture and the people who surround us.
LeBron James invests over a million dollars annually in his training environment - nutrition, sleep, mindfulness, basketball.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski's fingerprints are all over The Bear...and he didn't know it. “The other thing is that you’re not gonna get there alone. You know, be on a team. Surround yourself with good people and learn how to listen. You’re not gonna learn with you just talking. And when you do talk, converse, don’t make excuses. Figure out the solution, and you don’t have to figure it out yourself. I always wanted to be part of a team. And obviously, I wanted to lead that team. What an interesting life it is to be a leader.”
Environment includes where we train, with whom we train, how we train, and freedom from distractions. Excellence doesn't survive distractions.
The "self-made man" remains a myth. Everyone gets help as "mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Recognize this and share credit. "Althea Gibson, one of the first black athletes to cross the color line of international Tennis and the first African American to win a Grand Slam title once said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.”" - Allistair McCaw in Habits That Make a Champion
Paraphrasing Harry Bosch, the Michael Connelly hero, "Everything counts or nothing counts."
Improve Our Training Environment
- Surround ourselves with good people and listen.
- Find a mentor.
- Invest in yourself. Excellence extracts a price.
- Train without distractions.
- Recognize people and things holding us back.
Lagniappe. Allistair McCaw shares environmental musts. His Habits That Make a Champion is a must read for coaches.
10 Traits of a High Performing Training Environment:
- Involves people of high character
- Drives high standards and values
- There is psychological safety
- Has competent coaches and support personnel
- Is growth minded
- There is consistent feedback provided
- Includes other high performing athletes
- Provides the appropriate facilities and equipment
- Motivates the athlete to work harder
- Teaches life skills, not only athletic skills
Updated Power Rankings
Melrose holds onto the fourth spot in D2. Burlington and Woburn slip in ML12 power rankings.
Melrose travels to number seven Duxbury tomorrow.
"Own It"
View on Threads
Chase perfection and find excellence.
No game, player, coach, or analysis inhabits perfection. Everyone wants decisions, plays, and sentences redone.
In Good Writing, Allen and Lamott prioritize writing good sentences. Then shape them into paragraphs, chapters, and compete works.
In volleyball, make each play the "production unit." Sometimes a directed, quality serve ends the play. Move on. Next play. Stream that 'sentence' into a paragraph.
In the fifth set against Belmont, at 11-7, Sabrina read the attack and prey becomes predator. That happened because Gen and Sadie made adjustments and kept the play alive off the rafters.
That sequence sets up "The Kid" to serve out the match.
Whatever happens, own it.
Statistics Versus Belmont
The stat sheet is marked up today:
Attacking:
Three players with a dozen or more kills, led by Alisa with a career best 13.
Serving:
Elise and Anna both with 19 service points.
Ball handling:
Sadie with 33 assists
Digs:
An astonishing six players with double digit digs. Probably the first time that has ever happened. Coach can comment on that.
Receptions:
Four players with double digit receptions
Set Three Highlights (vs Belmont)
The "toolbox" allows for different answers. The fastball gets defenders on their heels. That sets up offspeed pitches. And the tips bring defenders in, limiting their reaction time.
Aggression. Force. Toughness. Call it what you like. Remember CAR-T - consistency, aggression, resilience, and toughness.
Sometimes, the correct decision is "keeping a play alive." Or fall in love with easy. Other times, bring the rain.
Elise continues to deliver wherever installed in the lineup.
MVB doesn't score here, but not from lack of effort. Dani and Gen being Dani and Gen craft two remarkable digs. Pancake but no syrup this time.
More defensive Dani with a payoff from Elise.
No point, but more excellent reaction time at the net. Undersized but overly competitive.
Know who you are.
More Highlights - Belmont at Melrose
"Show, then tell." Words paint pictures but pictures impact us directly, viscerally.
How many times did fans say, "Wow?"
Both teams proved "worthy" opponents. A long rally followed by an Alisa Dautovic pipe attack.
Attack distribution matters. Amelie Johnson scores from the right side.
Better teams have at least three offensive threats. Melrose had three players with at least ten kills - Alisa, Adriana Santoriello, and Elise Marchais, scoring here.
Belmont's stout defense kept plays alive until they could attack.
Finding holes in the defense challenged MVB throughout. Here Sabrina scores.
Position, timing, and "pressing the block" into enemy airspace scores points. Adriana gets "hands on" here.
Alisa Dautovic's return to full participation showed off her full range of skills.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
The Socrates Tests
Philosophy literally translates to "love of wisdom." Socrates was among the leading practitioners of philosophy in ancient Greece. Follow his logic in the test of the three sieves (filters):
View on Threads
1. Is it true?
2. Is it good?
3. Is it useful?
Gossip and rumor fly in an era of social media run wild. Untruths and conspiracy theories are abundant. As listeners, we're tasked with separating truth from fiction.
Truth
Investigative journalist Bob Woodward of The Washington Post, explained that his job entailed finding the best available version of the truth. He insists on documentation and confirmation of sources.
After he wrote his book The Brethren, about the Supreme Court, Woodward was contacted by a former court clerk who said that a quote attributed to him was incorrect. Woodward invited him to his home and showed him the quote in the clerk's handwriting. The clerk said he would have sworn that was not true.
Separating truth from fiction often isn't easy. It takes discipline and patience not to spread unverified information. And our memories fail.
Before spreading rumors, use the first filter, "Is it true?"
Goodness
Consider whether a rumor is good or harmful. If someone says, "Did you know that she wrote the whole term paper using AI?," it's certainly not good and unknown whether it's true.
Even if you could verify that it were true, it fails on the second filter, "Is it good?"
Useful
Does the information we will hear in a rumor or conspiracy help us navigate our world? "There's a rabid animal in our neighborhood." That would be useful to keep ourselves and our pets away from that animal. The most common 'suburban' rabies vectors are raccoons and skunks, and less often foxes and coyotes. All live locally, so the useful information is to stand clear.
Before circulating or hearing rumors or gossip, whether about volleyball or anything else, think about these three filters and save ourselves and others troubles.
Another approach is applying the THINK acronym, derived from those Socratic sieves.
Acronyms are often easier to recall.
Every one of us has passed on information that doesn't meet these values. Sometimes that's from ignorance, others from not thinking well. Make the effort to pass Socrates' tests, wisdom from ancient times.
Lagniappe. Trust. Hat tip: Larry McKenzie
Trust is a foundational value for high performance organizations.
Game 14: Melrose 3 Belmont 2
With the match of critical importance to both teams, Melrose held off Belmont (11-3) in five sets - 20-25, 25-13, 25-18, 22-25, and 15-7.
The win boosts the Melrose record to 11-3 headed into another "Fists of Fury" match in Duxbury Saturday.
MIAA power rankings (playoff seeding), ML12 tournament seeding, and a big crowd for "Dig Purple Night" added to the drama.
Each one point margin of victory adds 0.05 rating points and the win helps Melrose hold off Belmont for third place in the ML12.
After a slow start, Belmont took control of the first set with exceptional defense keeping play after play alive. Melrose couldn't "climb the hill" as Belmont conceded nothing.
Melrose got off fast in the second set. At 10-4 setter Sadie Smith attacks a second ball and gets a kill.
In a defining sequence in the second set, with Elise Marchais serving, Melrose goes on a massive run with everyone involved.
Melrose held a massive lead before Belmont had a late rally to close the set to within 25-13.
Melrose continued strong play in the third set, with huge contributions from setter Sadie Smith, the liberos (Anna Burns, Gen Overlan), defensive specialist Dani DiGiorgio, middles Elise and Sabrina McArt, right side Amelie Johnson, and "all-six" players Alisa Dautovic and Adriana Santoriello. The result was a hard-earned 25-18 win, putting Melrose up 2-1.
Belmont does not quit. Only 30 kills from Sabine Wenzel prevented Belmont from winning last season in five sets. And Belmont continued their exceptional defense throughout.
In the fifth and tiebreaking set, Belmont bounced out in front 2-0 but Melrose struck back with four consecutive points, and led 8-5 at the exchange of ends.
Elise Marchais threw in a couple of service points to lead 10-5 before Belmont scored. At 10-6, Alisa Dautovic fired in a key kill to extend the lead to 11-6. After Belmont scored, Sabrina had a massive block to bring the lead back to five at 12-7 and Alisa "aced out" the set for the margin of victory.
What went well?
- Melrose avoided slow starts.
- MVB got exceptional performances from multiple, multiple players.
- Even when a few players struggled, they held firm with the conviction to hit and refind the "hot zone."
- Excellent communication with negligible balls hitting the floor.
What went poorly?
The biggest "negative" was Belmont's exceptional defense. In the style of a later round playoff game, Belmont never quit.
What were the enduring lessons?
Stick to the game plan - aggression, aggression, aggression.
Melrose Notes:
Coach Scott Celli said after the match, "We knew it would be like this."
The MVMMS Gym hosted a large and enthusiastic crowd, a definite playoff atmosphere.
Former MVB stars in the house - Gia Vlajkovic (varsity assistant), Elena Soukos (another "Triple Crown Winner") and big sister Manon Marchais. Also parents of former stars including the Vlajkovic family, Rachel Johnson's parents and Leah Fowke's dad.
Reading beat Burlington 3-1 to maintain their stranglehold on the ML12 two seed.
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