25th straight year that Melrose has reached postseason
THE MELROSE High volleyball team is against a dominant force in the league with a 12-2 record, thanks in part to their seasons from left: Alex Homan, Gg Albuja, Sophia Papatsoris, Maggie Turner, Abby Dennison, Ava Perrotti, Caroline Higonenq, Milania Noessel and Leah Fowke. (photo by Raj Das, epdhotos.com)
After press time:
Melrose defeats Duxbury 3-1 (Oct. 19)
Melrose defeats Wilmington 3-0 (Oct. 17)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—It was a night to remember for the Melrose High varsity volleyball team, who hosted arch rival Wakefield last Friday evening for Melrose Youth Volleyball Night in a packed gymnasium and proceeded to pound their way to a 3-0 sweep over the Warriors in sets of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-21, that helped Melrose improve to 12-2 with six games left in the regular season. They have already clinched a spot in the Div. 2 playoffs, the first of Melrose High’s teams to do it a few weeks back. It has been another one of those seasons for Melrose. And their clinching of a playoff spot marks their 25th straight playoff bid for coach Scott Celli. There’s no wonder that MHS volleyball remains one of the hottest tickets in town.
MELROSE SENIOR Capt. Leah Fowke reached 1,000 career assists in her role as setter for the MHS girls’ volleyball team. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)
Friday was also was a night to remember for Melrose senior captain Leah Fowke, who broke the 1,000th career assist mark as her role as setter for Melrose High. At press time, she now stands at 1,003 assists with plenty more to come, considering their upcoming playoff stint.
“Leah has been amazing,” said Melrose head coach Scott Celli. “She is the straw that stirs the drink, as they say. She has really done a remarkable job running the offense.”
Fowke has been a key reason for Melrose claiming two Sectional titles in three seasons and there is a hope that this senior-heavy team can repeat that championship this fall. Should they, it will be in part from Fowke’s direction that Melrose navigates the challenging world of playoffs. “The calmness that she brings to the setter position and the leadership that she has, has been vital to the team’s success,” notes Celli.
Melrose is ranked about 8th in Div. 2 with players on the top end of stat categories in the Division and league. Melrose is tied with Winchester at 11-1 in the ML, but safely ahead in the Freedom League. Fowke is 5th in the division in assists and junior Sabine Wenzel and senior Caroline Higonenq are 2nd and 4th in the Middlesex League in hitting, respectively.
Middle hitter Wenzel had a killer week for Melrose, in addition to the 15 kills against Wakefield, she secured 19 more in the team’s previous effort against Woburn in that 3-1 win. That puts her at 34 kills in two games, a feat that impressed coach Celli. “Sabine has been as advertised, strong blocker, strong hitter. She sets the tone for our other hitters because other teams focus so much on her, we get a lot of one-on-one match ups with our outside hitters,” he said.
That includes Caroline Higonenq who had a monster game against Woburn, a career best 19 kills to match Wenzel in their Oct. 8 clash against the Tanners. Higonenq is unique and dangerous because of her tremendous back row defense. She will often match or surpass her kill numbers with digs. After a missed junior year to injury, its safe to say she has made up for lost time and has risen to the occasion.
“Caroline is our only other 6 rotation player (Leah is the other). She never takes a play off. In many ways, her defense is just as good as her offense. Not sure if you can replace Sadie [Jaggers] but she has done everything that that she did for us last year.”
Melrose has also benefitted from strong hitting up front from Sofia Papatsoris and Emme Boyer, who both had 7 kills against the Warriors, along with Abby Dennison. Paptsoris recently returned from an ankle injury and her role as middle is considered key. “She is a vital part of our offense, but also her blocking has been huge. She is the perfect complement to Sabine as middle,” says Celli
Coming into the season, defense was Melrose’s calling card and it still is with Gg Albuja, Maggie Turner, Alex Homan and Caroline Higonenq holding the fort in the back row. Turner was particularly strong against Wakefield with 17 digs and 19 serve receives. Albuja leads the team in serving with 150 service points and recently had 16 service points against Woburn. Other serving contributions have come from Fowke, Alex Homan, Adele Ackland and Maggie Turner, who is serving at 93%.
With Melrose firing on all cylinders, and a current Power Ranking of No. 10 in Div. 2, it’s with confidence that Melrose will probably take the Middlesex Freedom League, will likely host a playoff game, and will contend for another Sectional Final Four trophy, even beyond.
But there is still a lot of regular season volleyball to play, including some tough competition in the form of Duxbury, whom they travel to this Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and Newton North, whom they finish their season against on Oct. 25. In between those games is the remainder of their Freedom League contests.
Notes Celli, “We have been focusing on blocking the opposition’s outside attack. Both Duxbury and Newton North will bring it from the outside, plus, we feel that for us to make a run in the tournament, slowing down the opposition’s outside attack will be beneficial.”
Remaining Schedule
10/17/2024 Thu 5:30 PM v. Wilmington
10/19/2024 Sat 2:30 PM @ Duxbury
10/22/2024 Tue 6:30 PM v. Stoneham
10/24/2024 Thu 5:30 PM @ Watertown
10/25/2024 Fri 6:00 PM v. Newton North
