21-2 Lady Raiders closer to D2 North game after beating Fenwick

THE MELROSE Lady Raider volleyball team earned their 22nd win and advanced to Div. 2 North semifinals with a 3-1 win over Bishop Fenwick on Tuesday night. (Donna Larsson photo) 

THE MELROSE Lady Raider volleyball team earned their 22nd win and advanced to Div. 2 North semifinals with a 3-1 win over Bishop Fenwick on Tuesday night. (Donna Larsson photo)

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE — The Melrose Lady Raider volleyball team knew that reclaiming a sectional title this season meant having to pass through the team who stole it from them last November.

Mission accomplished for Melrose, who restored balance in the Melrose vs. Fenwick rivalry with a 3-1 win over the Cougars on Tuesday in the MIAA Div. 2 North quarterfinals at the Melrose Middle School gym. The Lady Raiders beat last year’s Div. 2 North champ Crusader team in front of a well-attended home crowd in sets of 21-25, 25-10, 25-12 and 25-20. Despite an impressive first set win, the Crusaders were unable to maintain momentum against a hard hitting Melrose squad. The win secured the Lady Raiders a trip to semifinals against Weston (16-4) on Thursday (post deadline) and if victorious there, another shot at a Division 2 North title (scheduled for Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Woburn High).

“We played really well, I think game one was a wakeup call,” said Melrose head coach Scott Celli. “We controlled the net, hit the ball hard, served well and didn’t go soft. We did a lot of good things tonight and didn’t get flustered. I was pretty proud of my team.”

Leading the Lady Raiders in offense were senior captain Meri Lessing with 14 kills, junior Hannah Mulcahey with 11 and sophomore Victoria Crovo with 10. Senior captain Allie Nolan shined in her role as setter, challenged in her four sets.

Melrose was uncharacteristically slow in their first game, unable to find rhythm and struggled in back row defense as Melrose dropped to deficits of 12-7, 16-12 and 20-18. Fenwick tied the game up at 20 and took a 23-20 lead that culminated in a 25-21 set win, despite a very strong offensive effort from Hannah Mulcahey (5 kills). By set two Melrose righted the ship, backed by strong serving from Stephanie Crovo and kills by Lessing that helped Melrose take a 9-1 lead. Lessing owned the set offensively for Melrose delivering six of her 14 kills in the night and helping Melrose run to leads of 14-4 and 19-6. Melrose finished the job with a 25-8 set win, a lopsided score given the first set result.

SENIOR CAPTAIN Meri Lessing had 14 kills for the Melrose Lady Raider volleyball team who advanced to Div. 2 North semifinals with a 3-1 over Bishop Fenwick. (Steve Karampalas photo) 

SENIOR CAPTAIN Meri Lessing had 14 kills for the Melrose Lady Raider volleyball team who advanced to Div. 2 North semifinals with a 3-1 over Bishop Fenwick. (Steve Karampalas photo)

“Our first set was great, that’s been our story all season,” said Fenwick head coach Adam DeBaggis. “We can play like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, we’re up and down all year, game to game and set to set.”

Victoria Crovo and Lessing helped Melrose conduct a masterful third set taking back a lead at 7-6 while Melrose’s defense found their footing. Senior captain Allie Nolan held fort with a dominating service run that helped Melrose take a 13-7 lead and was aided by powerful kills by Mulcahey, who hit three in a row to give Melrose a lead of 18-9. Offensively, Stephanie Crovo, Allie Nolan and Meri Lessing helped Melrose take a lead of 24-12 while Marisa Cataldo hit a game winner for a final 25-12 set win. Melrose had to clinch their fourth set to end the night and did so in a nice style with early leads of 5-3 and 10-5 behind efforts of Lessing and Victoria Crovo. Nolan kept the Crusaders way off balance with two strategically placed corner shots that gave Melrose advantages of 10-5 and 13-6. Bishop Fenwick kept the set interesting when they crawled from a 20-14 deficit to scores of 21-16, 21-18 and 21-20, giving hope to their fans in attendance. However, Victoria Crovo and Hannah Mulcahey ended that plan with two consecutive kills that put the set (and game) away with a 25-20 win.

After the win coach Celli credited the relentless work of his hitters. “I thought Meri Lessing had a great game. … Hannah Mulcahey played a phenomenal match for us today. She played smart volleyball and that’s what we needed out of her. And Victoria Crovo has been [playing well] all year for us. We have a lot of hitters and make it harder for opponents to focus on one person because we have the capability to go to other people in the court.”

Sophomore captain Victoria Crovo had a huge set four for Melrose, with late game kills that kept Melrose up by two critical points. She spoke after the game about keeping momentum after a first set loss. “I think we didn’t have enough intensity in set one and maybe underestimated them. By set two we knew we had to play our best to beat them and that intensity carried over to set three and four. We saw the gaps on the floor and took advantage.”

“I think we showed a lot of mental toughness being able to bounce back,” says junior Hannah Mulcahey, who had a huge set three for Melrose. “We work well together. We didn’t panic because we know we had the talent to do it.”

Melrose is scheduled to face Weston on Thursday, Nov. 6 (post deadline), a lower ranked team at 16-4 but a team that includes a very strong outside hitter in Athena Ardila.

Should the Lady Raiders prevail they will return to the Div. 2 North title on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Woburn High School, which would mark their 12th straight appearance. It is almost certain that game will include an appearance of Arlington Catholic who should have no problem fending off Winchester. Fans are encouraged to visit www.miaa.net for up to date tournament information.