THE MELROSE High girl’s volleyball team saw their march to State Finals thwarted by King Philip, whom they fell to 3-0 in the Final Four. The two-time consecutive Sectional champs finish 19-5. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)
King Philip ends Melrose’s state campaign, 3-0
FRAMINGHAM—The Div. 2 Sectional champion Melrose girls volleyball team saw their post season drive end to a strong King Philip team on Nov. 16 at Framingham High in a 3-0 loss in sets of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-22.
No. 2 seed King Philip was fighting No. 6 seed Melrose for the right to earn a spot in the state final. (The Warriors prevailed only to fall to eventual champion Westborough, 3-0, on Saturday.)
Melrose finishes another trophy-winning season at 19-5, on the heels of their 3-1 win over Duxbury for the Sectional title and a place in the Final 4. “They were probably the best hitting team we’ve faced all year,” said Melrose head coach Scott Celli after the game. “They just had too much firepower.”
Throughout the match Melrose have to contend with 6’3 Warrior, Emily Sawyer, who led the senior-heavy Warriors with 14 points, and tough outside Ahunna James.
Melrose was outplayed in the first set, falling to deficits of 10-4 and 19-9 as Melrose struggled to thwart off Sawyer and James. Melrose looked primed to take set 2 and tie things up after opening up with a 7-1 lead, behind kills from Gia Vlajkovic and a service run from Ava McSorley, whose serving (along with Leah Fowke) proved game changers in playoffs. King Philip tied things up 17-17 in the second set, and Melrose was on the receiving end of some questionable calls. Kills by Melrose’s Sadie Jagger and Anna Shoemaker kept it close, down 22-0, but two straight kills by the Warriors closed the door 25-20. Melrose was down 7-1 early in the third, but got on the board from a kill by Chloe Gentile and Melrose pecked away at the Warriors on a huge run, down just one at 20-19 thanks to another great McSorley service run. The game nearly hinged at 23-22 (King Philip advantage) but the Warriors finished the job 25-22.
“We almost took set 2, but let them back in the game, and just couldn’t hold on in the end,” said Celli.
Of his six seniors, captains Chloe Gentile, Gia Vlajkovic and Ruth Breen, Emma Desmond, Ava McSorley and Anna Shoemaker, Celli notes they will be hard to replace. “We had six leaders who all had their niche on this team. They played as a true team and left it on the court today.”
