Melrose tops Stoneham, 3-0
Published in the October 19, 2018 edition
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Lady Raider volleyball team clinched a playoff spot in the Div. 2 North field after a 3-0 sweep of Stoneham on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Melrose improves to 10-5 on the season (10-3 league) with some steady competition on the schedule next week, including a rematch of last season’s state final game against Westborough.
The Rangers ride into town Saturday, Oct. 27 at 3:00 p.m. But in the meantime, Melrose is finishing up Freedom League play, including a game against Watertown tonight on the road.
Melrose went 2-3 over a week of playing, which includes two league wins against Wilmington and Stoneham, and a 3-0 loss against rival Arlington Catholic (18-0).
On Tuesday, Melrose was all business as they defeated the Spartans in sets of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-13. Leading the team in kills were Emma Randolph and Emily Hudson, who had 10 kills each. Randolph helped Melrose run off to leads of 4-1 and 10-2 thanks to consecutive kills, while Erin Torpey and Emily Hudson hit hard at the end of the set. In set two, Stoneham played more competitively and the two teams swapped ties of 3-3 and 6-6 until Melrose pulled ahead behind solid serving by Nicole Abbott. Hudson and Randolph continued to pound away, helping Melrose take the 25-11 win. Set three saw solid hitting from Erin Torpey, a strong performance at the line by Abbott and some game-winning slams by Sam Dewey to seal the deal, 25-11.
MARY KATE Mahoney has been a potent server for the MHS volleyball team. (Steve Karampalas photo)
According to coach Scott Celli, he was happy with Melrose’s defense and serving. “I thought our back row played well, and serving is getting better. It’s okay to hit the net every once in a while, but this team knows that when we serve well, we win easier.”
Melrose has made adjustments in recent days in the front row, with Emma Randolph seeing time as an outside hitter and Emily Hudson and Claire Albuja in the middle hitting spot. Having the team’s power hitters on the court at the same time seems to work. Says Celli, “We made that adjustment because Emma has a strong outside presence and I think today it showed that it works.”
On Monday, the team had traveled to Arlington Catholic to take on the 18-0 Cougars, who is proving to be the team to beat in the Div. 2 North. Just one year after Melrose knocked off Arlington Catholic in the Div. 2 North Finals, it was a total reversal of fortune and Melrose fell to the Cougars, 3-0, in sets of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-15. Among the highlights were hitting from Randolph, Hudson and Erin Torpey and solid serving from Torpey and Randolph. Setter Autumn Whelan had 20 kills.
“Arlington Catholic is an excellent team obviously and just played better than us,” Celli said. “Today it was important to get back on the court, focus on winning and concentrate on winning the rest of our regular schedule.”
Yet another winning effort was Melrose’s 3-2 win over Wilmington on Oct. 12. In the game, Emily Hudson led with 17 kills, while Randolph had 10, Torpey had 9 and Claire Albuja, 5. Autumn Whelan notched 27 assists and some solid back row play came from Nicole Abbott and Erin Torpey. Shining on the service line was Mary Kate Mahoney and Nicole Abbott.
Melrose will finish off their last Freedom League games before their rematch against Westborough on Oct. 27.
Remaining Schedule
Friday, Oct. 19
@ Watertown, 5
Tue, Oct. 23
vs Wakefield 5
Thu. Oct. 25
@ Burlington, 5
Sat. Oct. 27
v. Westborough, 3
Mon Oct. 29
vs Central Catholic, 6
