ML12 tourney goes to unbeaten Winchester, 3-0
Published April 30, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The league champ Melrose High girls’ volleyball team concluded their season with a much-anticipated ML 12 Final appearance against undefeated rival Winchester, a Div. 1 state powerhouse who in sets of 25-19, 25-21, 25-18 swept Melrose, 3-0.
Melrose finishes their league-winning season at 12-1, having already clinched the ML Freedom league (10-0) after a spectacular, undefeated 12-game winning streak during their Fall2 season.
Winchester came loaded with a senior heavy team who might have battled for a Div. 1 North title in any other season. While most of the games were point to point and Melrose took early leads in sets 1 and 3, ultimately Winchester had very few weaknesses to expose and a couple of hired guns in hitters such as Tia Fiorentino (9 kills) and Lauren Tian (12 points) who proved a challenge.
Melrose senior Emily Hudson wrapped up her high school career with 11 kills in one of her sharpest performances of the year. The future WPI volleyball player leaves Melrose with 436 total career kills. Meanwhile, senior setter Eva Haralabatos finishes her season going on a high note, ranked 10th in the state with 288 assists this season, and 908 total career. Haralabatos will also take her volleyball career into college.
Melrose looked sharp in set one, taking leads of 3-0 and 6-4, and maintaining edges of 12-9 and 14-12 before Winchester found their groove in the 15th point and didn’t look back. Melrose climbed back with kills from Abby Hudson and Chloe Gentile but Winchester pulled away with small leads of 19-17 and 22-18, despite hits from Gentile and Elena Soukos. Winchester wrapped it up 25-19 and set the tone for the rest of the matches.
Melrose’s rivals had more momentum in set two with early leads of 7-3 and 12-8 despite solid hitting from Abby Hudson, Elena Soukos and Grace Sanderson. While the score slipped out of Melrose’s hands in the set, what the numbers didn’t reveal is the defensive fight Melrose put up on each play, with several “long balls” earned on both sides. Each team was unwilling to give up floor space and Melrose’s hard work came most notably from libero Autumn Whelan and the back row work of Abby Hudson.
Emily Hudson had some solid offense to end the set for Melrose but Winchester took it 25-21. In set three, both Elena Soukous and Emily Hudson powered Melrose to an early 7-1 lead but that the Red Raiders eventually fell victim to some lights-out hitting and serving from Winchester, who turned the game around at point 10 with a relentless series of kills that lead to an ultimate 24-18 loss.
MELROSE GRADUATES two starting players and returns a boatload of talent in Fall 2021. (Jennifer Gentile photo)
“The better team won today,” says Melrose head coach Scott Celli after the game. “They dictated play early and I think we had trouble passing early on. We never really got in a rhythm where we could showcase our hitters. You have to be aggressive with a team like this. Winchester showed how aggressive they were and I think it showed on the scoreboard.”
He salutes his seniors, captains Emily Hudson, Eva Haralabatos, and seniors Grace Sanderson and Sofia Centrella, for getting Melrose as far it did this season. Says Celli, “They gave me everything I asked for them this season. Emily and Eva had big roles in the tournament process and they played fantastic.”
Despite the loss, the meeting against Winchester was a great chance for Melrose to play a team in a higher division. Melrose, being a Div. 2 school, would normally not play Winchester in any playoff capacity. This rare, “large v. small” tournament provided Melrose a unique opportunity to prove it can stand toe-to-toe with a Div. 1 favorite. And they did.
While Melrose loses four longtime seniors, they return pretty stacked and as a potential Div. 2 North favorite. Power hitters such as sophomore captain Chloe Gentile, team offense leader Elena Soukous and strong outsides Abby Hudson and Gia Vlajkovic. Add hitters and defensive specialists such as Ava Burns, Emma Desmond, Ava McSorley, Sadie Jaggers and Grace Gentile, and you have seasoned players ready to fight title in 2021. And this summer, it’s back to training. Because all thoughts are on next season. Melrose would like to win their 15th straight league title.
“We’re learning a lot from this game,” says Celli. “If we want to beat an upper-echelon team like Winchester, we have to work on the things we identify between now and the fall.”
