THE JOURNEY starts now for the 18-2 Melrose volleyball team who open playoffs at home on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Pictured is leading scorer, Elena Soukos. (Raj Das www.edphotos.com)
18-2 Melrose starts postseason Sat. at home
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High girl’s volleyball team has finished their regular season complete with a 18-2 record as they head into the Div. 2 playoffs as the #5th seed in a field of 39 teams. Melrose will open their playoffs this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. against the winner of Amherst/Pelham (#28 seed) and Chelsea (#36 seed), who will travel to Melrose to compete at the MVMMS gym. Entry is free and fans are unrestricted but must wear masks.
Getting to an 18-2 record has been a momentous task for Melrose, who finished 15-1 in the Middlesex League and has gone 54-8 in set wins since September.
Melrose is seeded fifth in a very strong Div. 2 state-wide field (there are no sectionals) with a power rating of 4.338, which represents the North’s strongest team beside #4 seed Billerica. The top five seeds are Westboro, King Phillip, Hopkinton, Billerica and Melrose. These are the teams that the Red Raiders must beat in order to recapture a state title for the first time since 2012, and become the only team besides those 2012 champs to earn a volleyball state title for MHS.
While it’s certainly nice to be in the mix of teams predicted for long playoffs runs, Melrose head coach Scott Celli also knows how important it is to remain reasonably cautious and not get ahead of themselves. There remains much to fine tune as they enter playoff this weekend.
“The stakes are high and we are now entering one and done territory,” he says. “There’s no room for error. There are a few things we want to work on. Quicker coverage, more enhanced communication on the court and a greater blocking effort. That’s the stuff we’re focusing on this week.”
Last Friday, Melrose finished their regular season at home with a dizzying 3-2 comeback over a spunky Div. 1 Central Catholic team. The longtime non league rival has made an annual appearance on the team’s schedule for a purpose: they’re great post season preparation. Melrose fell down sets 0-2 in an uncharacteristic funk before charging back dramatically to win the next three sets 25-9, 25-9, 15-6. It wasn’t always pretty but Celli appreciate the dramatic comeback. “They turned it on. What you saw in the last three sets was inspired volleyball and a great finish.” Still, Melrose knows they can’t afford to start slow as they enter post season. “Falling to 0-2 will not be good enough in playoffs,” says Celli. “We have to start with energy and momentum and keep it.”
All that said, the game displayed Melrose’s trademark hitting power, with senior captain Elena Soukous lights out with 21 kills. Fellow senior captain Abby Hudson is back to health and contributed with 11 kills. Middle blockers Chloe Gentile and Sadie Jaggers did the job at the net combining for 13 kills. New setter Gia Vlajkovic helped Melrose up front with blocking efforts and 5 kills of her own and had 41 assists over the night. Serving remained a plus from Melrose thanks to senior captain libero Autumn Whelan and senior southpaw Ava Burns, whose serving in set 3 helped Melrose pull away from Central Catholic and clinch the needed 25-9 win. Her effort in particular impressed Celli. “Ava brings a real positive energy that’s infectious. Her work on the service line ultimately helps the whole team.” And he credited Whelan for remaining cool behind the scenes. “With Autumn, you never worry.”
It was that set win that visibly took the air out of Central Catholic’s tires. The team struggled in the next two sets as Melrose pounded away behind kills from Abby Hudson, Chloe Gentile and Elena Soukos. A Chloe Gentile service run helped Melrose extend a 3-1 lead to a 9-2 lead in set 4. And two straight kills from Sadie Jaggers gave Melrose a critical 25-9 win. Set 5 was another breeze for Melrose, who took a quick 5-1 lead behind three straight kills from Gentile. An Ava Burns ace closed the door on Central Catholic and Melrose took the exciting win.
Now, Melrose is focused on playoffs. Should the Red Raiders beat Amherst-Pelham or Chelsea on Saturday they will host again at home (likely on Monday or Tuesday) against the winner of 12th seed Mansfield or #21 seed North Quincy. It’s one game at a time, cautions Celli. “If we clean up the things we need to, and play at our best, we will be a tough out for anyone.”
Fans are encouraged to visit the MIAA website at www.miaa.net or visit our social media pages such as @MelroseWNSports for up to date tournament information. (Digital tickets at gofan.co/app/school/MIAA may be required for further playoff games in a Best of 16 play)
