Two league wins improve Melrose to 15-2
Published October 25, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Lady Raider volleyball team is operating at full throttle as they drive towards playoffs. Over the last week, they picked up two straight league wins over Watertown and Wakefield to improve to 15-2. On Wednesday of this week (post-deadline) they faced a critical league battle against Burlington with the winner earning the 2019 Middlesex Freedom Title.
Melrose is looking to increase their win tally in order to secure a high seed in the Div. 2 North bracket. Playoffs could start anywhere as early as Oct. 31 with Melrose certain to be hosting opening round play.
It definitely felt like a playoff atmosphere when Melrose traveled to Wakefield and battled a feisty Warrior team for round two of their rivalry this season. It was a jam-packed house with tons of Warrior fan support as the occasion served as a fundraiser for the Dana Farber Institute in honor of the late Jennifer McNall, mother to their senior player, Rachel.
While Melrose prevailed 3-0 in sets of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-21, Wakefield proved a pesky foe, taking many leads during the three sets and forcing Melrose to dig deep to flip the score in several key moments. Wakefield’s Maddie Melanson, in particular, proved tough upfront but fortunately Melrose’s strong net game, led by middles Chloe Gentile and Emily Hudson, helped thwart any major offensive attack.
READY FOR playoffs. The Melrose Lady Raider volleyball team celebrates during their 3-0 victory over Wakefield on Monday. (Dan Pawlowski photo)
Melrose was led in hitting by Emma Randolph, who had a monster game with 18 kills. She provided most of the answers for Melrose when they were in a scoring hole, while freshman Gentile denied many scoring at the net with several block kills, a total of 9 kills for the night. Rounding out the scoring was Erin Torpey with 8 kills and Emily Hudson with 7. Setter Eva Harabalatos was busy with 28 assists and libero Nicole Abbott had a smooth game with 15 digs.
Wakefield was most competitive in set one. The two teams switched leads and battled in ties of 14-14 and 19-19 behind strong hitting from Randolph. Emily Hudson hit the set winner for a 25-20 victory. Set two was all Melrose. The Lady Raiders took big leads of 6-2 and 17-4 behind hitting from Chloe Gentile, who had 6 kills in the set, and Emily Hudson. The result was a 25-13 win that put Melrose in the driver’s seat. Set three was more of a challenge as Wakefield took an early lead of 9-2 but Emma Randolph slowly chipped away with powerful kills and a well-executed block kill from Elena Soukous and Chloe Gentile gave Melrose their first lead of the set, 11-10. Erin Torpey took command in hitting and helped Melrose run out to a lead of 18-16. Emily Hudson had a block kill that made it 21-20 Melrose and two straight kills from Gentile helped Melrose slip away with the 25-21 win.
After the game, coach Scott Celli credited his team for their tenaciousness.
“They [Wakefield] were a much-improved team since the first time we played them this season,” he said. “I think with the emotion in the gym and the cause, Wakefield came out on fire. So this was a big test for us. I told the girls ‘you’ve got to be ready for this’ this is a state tournament atmosphere here and I think it challenged them and they reacted well.”
Being able to persevere through deficits was something Celli found pride in. “The first 10 or 12 points in game one I think we were trying to find ourselves. From that point on I think we played consistent volleyball both in the back row and especially the front row. I think our two middles Chloe and Emily did a great job stopping their middle and then we fed our outsides with tons of kills from Emma and Erin. Our defense and serving also dictated a lot of that, too.”
With just three games left on the schedule, including a season closer on the road at Central Catholic on Monday, this team is thinking about their playoff journey and their hopes of capturing the Div. 2 North crown and beyond. Right now, coach Celli likes what he sees. “I’d say over the last 5-6 matches it’s been a different team. One that is definitely ready for the tournament.”
Fans get a chance to see some of the finest Middlesex teams in action this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at the MMVMS gym as Melrose hosts ML12 Volleyball night.
