Playoff run ends in Semi’s against Lynnfield, 3-0

Published November 15, 2019

By JENNIFER GENTILE

DANVERS—The Melrose High girl’s volleyball team saw their successful season come to an end in the Div. 2 North semifinals when they fell to undefeated Lynnfield, 3-0, on Thursday, Nov. 7 at Danvers High. Melrose finishes an impressive 19-4 season that earned Melrose head coach Scott Celli 400 wins and senior captain Emma Randolph a broken school record.

Lynnfield came into the game with a flawless 23-0 record but Melrose played toe-to-toe in each set. Melrose’s Emma Randolph and Emily Hudson proved on-point over the game with 10 kills and 9 kills, respectively. Lynnfield, meanwhile, brought Melissa Morelli, who was a force on service and attacking with 14 well-placed kills. But Melrose’s tough front row blocking (Hudson, Randolph, Chloe Gentile, and Elena Soukos) utilized their height to challenge the Pioneers, who were forced to recalibrate to soft shots and spotted balls in Melrose’s back corners, which seemed to work in the Pioneer’s favor. Melrose also misfired on a few shots that gave away crucial points to their rivals in tightly-locked sets.

NICOLE ABBOTT led a solid defense for Melrose, but the Red Raider volleyball team took a 3-0 loss to Lynnfield in Semifinals, ending their post season. (Steve Karampalas)

It was a competitive set one despite Melrose falling, 25-19. The set was locked in ties of 2-2 and 6-6 thanks to kills from freshman Chloe Gentile and senior captain Emma Randolph. The game was tied at 7-7 after two service points from Lynnfield’s Morelli. Despite clean hitting from Emma Randolph, Melrose fell into a hole but battled back from 20-15 to 22-19 thanks to kills from Erin Torpey and Emily Hudson. But an ace by Lynnfield ended the set.

Melrose also battled tough in set two but fell closely, 25-23, in a set in which momentum swung in Lynnfield’s direction. The game was tied at points 2, 4 and 5 before Lynnfield’s Morelli hit an ace to give Lynnfield a 6-5 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Melrose came back at 16-14 after a series of Hudson and Torpey kills and a spike by Chloe Gentile. Melrose tied it up and then some when Eva Haralabatos turned the tide with two straight aces. A Nicole Abbot kill gave Melrose their first lead of the game, 18-16. But a kill from the Pioneer’s Mackenzie Schena and an ace by Sam Labruska tied it, 21-21. Lynnfield hit two more kills and Melrose hit into the net twice to finish in a loss 25-23.

Melrose took a quick lead of 7-2 in set three behind hitting from Emily Hudson. The Pioneers tied it up 11-11, then took a 17-13 lead. Lynnfield continued with a lead of 24-17 but Melrose powered back on a service run from Autumn Whelan, who had the game of her young career, to make it 24-22. Melrose misfired on a shot out of bounds and Lynnfield took the set and the Sectional win, 25-22.

IT WAS a Semifinal filled with cheers and tears for the Melrose volleyball team, who fell to Lynnfield in 3-0. (Bill Heafey photo)

After the game, Melrose coach Scott Celli noted that key mistakes played a factor in an otherwise very competitive game. “We got a little soft in game three. We made too many errors. And you gotta give them credit, they forced us into errors. But I’m really proud of this group. Our season was phenomenal even though it didn’t go as far as we liked. We just met the better team today.”

Lynnfield coach Brett Ashley credited Melrose for their tenaciousness. “They didn’t make it easy. Melrose is well-coached and has a history of being here. I expected Scott [Celli] to come out and make changes every set, which he did. I guess we got lucky to adjust to what he had.”

Melrose says goodbye to seven seniors: captains Nicole Abbott, Erin Torpey, Emma Randolph, along with Marie Maher, Grace Davis, Claire Albuja and Mary Kate Mahoney. “Their leadership is what we’re going to miss the most,” says Celli. “I think that leadership will trickle down to the kids we have coming up.”

And while a state title is not in the cards for Melrose, this year Melrose earned its 15th ML title, saw coach Celli earn his 400th win and witnessed senior captain Emma Randolph break the school record with 900 career kills. This season, Randolph was also awarded the league’s Co-MVP honors and was recently selected to the MGVCA All-State team, which will be coached by Scott Celli. All of Melrose’s All-Stars, sans junior Emily Hudson, will be departing. They include Mary Kate Mahoney, Erin Torpey, Emma Randolph and Nicole Hudson.

But Melrose will return strong upfront with starting middle hitters Emily Hudson (149 kills) and freshman Chloe Gentile (113 kills in her debut season) giving an instant height boost which will also be aided by Grace Sanderson. Returning also is opposite hitter Elena Soukos, a player who wowed with a strong playoff appearance. Melrose will also return first-year setter, Eva Haralabatos, who tallied 620 assists and was ranked 4th in the entire state. Junior Autumn Whelan, meanwhile, is poised to help lead on defense next season. Returning to the floor also are experienced players Leah Heafey, Sofia Centrella, Grace Sanderson, Caroline Kiernan, and a new player, hard-hitting Abby Hudson.

While Celli will indeed miss his seniors—most were members of the 2017 State Finalist team—the future remains bright. At least five underclassmen shined on the floor during Thursday’s effort. Says the coach, “Some of these underclassmen are going to be big for us next year, and we’re looking forward to it.”