State’s best teams came to Melrose this week
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—In terms of degree of difficulty, it didn’t get much higher than a week of Westborough and Newton North for the Melrose High volleyball team, facing the two of the only teams to beat them last season. No pressure, right?
Melrose welcomed the #1 and #2 ranked high school volleyball teams last week and this week and despite falling 3-0 and 3-1 remain beyond playoff-ready as they approach mid-season. Melrose fought especially tough against #2 Newton North on Monday and nearly forced a 5th set from the Tigers, who were lucky to escape in one piece, taking a 3-1 win by very close sets of 21-25, 18-25, 25-17 and 25-23.
Melrose remains unbeaten at 7-0 in the Middlesex League, with large rival Winchester posing a future threat in league play. They face the Red and Black on Tuesday. Melrose previously enjoyed a league win on Sept. 30 when they traveled to Wilmington, picking up a fairly easy 25-20, 25-11, 25-10 victory. Having moved senior captain all star Chloe Gentile back to middle hitting to utilize height for blocking, it paid off as she led with 7 kills. Seeing time with solid work in hitting was Manon Marchais, Caroline Higonenq and Leah Fowke.
Melrose’s current 7-3 record is testament to the incredibly tough schedule coach Scott Celli has put together. And Melrose’s relationship with Newton North is an interesting one. The girls in red and white nearly prevailed last season on the road during a rowdy and controversial game and this season managed to scare the daylights out of #2 ranked Newton North who relied on firepower from Ashley Wright to counter the combined 20 kills of Gia Vlajkovic and Chloe Gentile. With powerful Tiger serving, Melrose hitters had difficulty being set, so the team benefited from Newton North’s errors, of which there were many.
SWEET SIX: The Melrose High volleyball team remains unbeaten in the league and ranked #6 in the division thanks in part to their seniors, front row L-R: Ava McSorney, Emma Desmond, Ruth Breen. Back: capt. Gia Vlajkovic, capt. Chloe Gentile and Anna Shoemaker. (Jennifer Gentile photo)
It was an even set one when Melrose was up 2-0 and 4-3 behind the serving of Ava McSorley and a kill from Manon Marchais. Kills by Sadie Jagger and Gia Vlajkovic kept Melrose even at 8-8 and back-to-back kills from Chloe Gentile put Melrose up 11-10. Strong net work by Jaggers and a pancake dig by Grace Gentile kept Melrose in the hunt but outside hitter Ashley Wright proved powerful and led the Tigers to a close 25-21 win. In set two, Melrose powered to leads of 6-5 and 10-7 behind block kills from Chloe Gentile, while Sadie Jaggers had a big set up front, but the Tigers pulled ahead for the set win. Melrose prevailed in set three, after taking leads of behind the work of Jaggers, Chloe Gentile at the serving line and Vlajkovic on the outside. Stellar serving from Ruth Breen helped Melrose pull away and cannons from Chloe Gentile gave Melrose a massive 20-12 lead they wouldn’t lose. The well-attended fan base was wild when Melrose took the 25-17 win.
And it was an even set 4 with the two teams locked in ties and swapping leads. The Tigers would pull away19-14 but Melrose crawled back thanks to timely Newton North errors and a key Gigi Albuja ace. Melrose was close to forcing a 5th and deciding set, down just 24-23, but a Newton North ace allowed them to escape, 25-23 with a 3-1 win.
Despite the loss, coach Celli was glad to have the chance to compete at such a high level and sees the rewards of it. “Being challenged by those teams allowed us to compete at the highest level. I think that we learned a lot about ourselves and will be better because of it. I am very happy about how we competed. We were tied at 23 in set 4, and had a chance.”
He credited Melrose for floor coverage against some powerful hitters. “We do a great job at coverage on the court, we have been serving very well as of late. We can work on seeing the court better defensively.”
As a Div. 1 team, Newton North will not be in Melrose’s playoff path. But like last season, Melrose will have to go through Westborough if they want a crack at the Div. 2 State Trophy. And they rolled into town on Sept. 28 as a reloaded and unbeaten team who boasts a possible Player of the Year in Quinn Anderson. Melrose fell in set of 15-25, 16-25, 18-25 to the Rangers, whose ability to find open corners kept Melrose diving on the floor most of the night. Melrose led in scoring by Chloe Gentile with 7 kills who helped Melrose take an early lead of 4-0 in set one with kills and blocks up front. Anna Shoemaker and Sadie Jaggers would add to kills before Westborough slowly pulled away in scores of 18-13 and 20-13 before the 25-15 final. Melrose continued to keep even with Westborough in set two behind work of Gia Vlajkovic and Chloe Gentile and took an early lead of 4-3. Thanks to the work of Ruth Breen on the serving line, Melrose tied it up 16-16 before Anderson went on a run to finish the set. In set three Melrose held a 10-10 tie in the most closely fought set behind the hitting of Gentile and Shoemaker before the Rangers closed the door.
Scott Celli admires his team playing to-to-toe with the best. “The play and the leadership of our three captains have been outstanding. We depend on their efforts quite a bit.”
The MIAA released early power rankings, a forecast of tournament seeding. Melrose ranks 6th in division 2, with Westborough unsurprisingly #1.
“I’m overly optimistic that we can advance deep into the postseason. Obviously, Westborough is the team to beat. If we can stay healthy, then we have a chance to make a run in the tournament. Getting a top 10 seed would be nice, but it really doesn’t matter who or where we play.”
Melrose will next hit the road to Stoneham and Frontier this weekend before hosting an undefeated Winchester on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
