Published in the October 26, 2018 edition
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—Death. Taxes. And league titles on a Melrose volleyball banner. Some things are just givens.
The Melrose High Red Raider volleyball clinched their 12th straight Middlesex League title with a 3-1 victory over a competitive Wakefield team on Tuesday, Oct, 23 at the Melrose Middle School gym in sets of 23-25, 25-15, 29-27 and 25-22. Melrose improves to 12-5 (12-3 league) as they wrap up their regular season and prepare for playoffs.
It’s one more title for MGVCA Hall of Fame coach Scott Celli, who just last year brought Melrose one set away from their second state championship. On Tuesday, while he was glad to have the job done, he was very complimentary of the effort from Wakefield (6-12). “This is the best team Wakefield team we’ve played, and they were much better this time around than our last meeting, particularly in their hitting.”
LIBERO NICOLE Abbott helped lead Melrose to a 3-1 win over Wakefield, which clinched Melrose’s 12th straight league title. (Donna Larsson photo)
Melrose responded to adversity on Tuesday, including a first set loss, and were led in scoring by Emma Randolph who had 24 kills. They also benefitted from outstanding libero work from Nicole Abbott, who made stunning saves against a tough-hitting Warrior offense. “I thought Nicole played her best game of the year,” said Celli. “And I was happy with our hitting up front. Emma on the outside was pretty untouchable.”
The night also marked a special occasion for the squad. In lieu of Senior Night (there are no seniors on the team) Melrose instead celebrated the career of junior varsity coach Ryan Schmitt, who will be deployed to Guantanamo Bay in March as a member of the United States Coast Guard. He will be stationed until New Years of 2020, while his family—wife Julie and children, Matthew, 10 and Grace, 7—remain stateside. As a result, Schmitt will not be coaching the JV team in 2019.
On Tuesday, his family was on hand to watch a pre-game presentation led by tri-captains Emma Randolph, Nicole Abbott and Erin Torpey, who honored his commitment to the Melrose volleyball family and more importantly, his country. After the game, Schmitt spoke of the tremendous honor. “I didn’t know anything about this. I think my wife did, which was why they were here tonight,” he chuckled. “I’m greatly honored- this is a great group of kids that I will miss coaching next year. It’s been a pleasure.”
JUNIOR VARSITY coach Ryann Schmitt (pictured with wife Julie and children Matthew and Grace) was honored by the team for his efforts as coach and as a Coast Guard serviceman. He will be deployed come March. (Steve Karampalas photo)
Melrose got to quick work in set one as thunder and lightning loomed outside the gym. They found themselves trading ties with a lively Wakefield team, who showed great hitting skill behind the hands of Hannah Butler, Maddie Melanson and Rachel Danzig. Wakefield was hungry for a set win against a more relaxed Melrose squad and flipped a Melrose lead of 11-7 and 16-12 to an eventual tie at 18-18 thanks to back-to-back kills from Danzig. Melrose then traded ties at points 22 and 23 before a series of Melrose fouls put Wakefield on the cusp of a set win at 24-23. A dump-kill by setter Clara Butler ended the set with a Wakefield win, 25-23.
Melrose rebounded strongly in set 2 with a 25-15 win. Emma Randolph was on a tear with 11 kills while Melrose’s front row blocking was relentless behind Emily Hudson (7 kills) and Claire Albuja (7 kills), which helped Melrose maintain leads of 9-2, 13-8 and 20-12. Randolph and Hudson pounded Warrior defense in the final points of the set for a 25-15 win.
The third set was a barnburner. Wakefield came to win and pushed Melrose to the brink to the 29th point. But Melrose prevailed, 29-27. Emma Randolph had 7 kills while key points came from Claire Albuja who tied things up 18-18, and Sofia Centrella who broke open a tie of 24 with a kill. But it was ultimately Caroline Kiernan on the service line who delivered the set winner, 29-27.
Melrose appeared to have all the momentum in set 4, despite some early swapping of ties at points 5 and 8. Thanks to a block kill by Claire Albuja, heavy hitting from Randolph and Hudson and a game closer by hitter Erin Torpey (10 kills), Melrose shut the door on the spunky Warrior squad, happy to take their 3-1 win and say goodbye to team that is surprisingly not in playoff contention.
“We have things to improve on,” said Celli. “I think being more aggressive in our hitting will help. But we still have three games to go to improve before playoffs.”
That includes some stiff competition in coming days. Melrose’s toughest stretch of the schedule with Burlington, Westborough and Central Catholic is on tap. On Saturday, they host their Div. 2 rival Westborough, who denied Melrose a state title last year. Action takes place at 3:00 p.m. at the Middle School gym. On Monday, Melrose will host Central Catholic at 6:00 p.m.
