VOLLEYBALL SENIORS raised the roof against Wakefield and Burlington to remain 14-0 in the ML. They were honored last Friday on Senior Night: From left: Gia Vlajkovic, Ruth Breen, Ava McSorley, Emma Desmond, Chloe Gentile and Anna Shoemaker.
Melrose is 14-0 after ML Freedom victories
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—A lot is going right for the Melrose High volleyball team, who remain a flawless 14-0 in the Middlesex League and remain poised to sweep the entire ML12 as they wind down their regular season this week with playoffs on the horizon.
And for the 23rd straight year (23rd!) they’re going to playoffs.
This is the 16th straight year they’ve won the ML championship and in 23 years, Melrose has won the Middlesex League for 21 of them. Whether that is a MHS school record is unclear but let’s face it, it probably is. Such is the legacy of coach Scott Celli’s program, and this year Melrose (14-4 overall) is once again poised for a long playoff run that could culminate in a state final appearance. They have two remaining games on the docket, Stoneham and Wilmington at home on Wednesday and Friday. Melrose is poised to go 16-4 as they enter the Div. 2 field as either the 4th or 3rd seed.
Melrose is currently ranked #4 in Division 2 behind dreaded Westborough along with King Philip and Duxbury. As of press time, Melrose is the reigning North favorite, with few teams coming close.
Getting there, they took two victories over Freedom League rivals Wakefield and Burlington last week.
Senior Night last Friday at the MVMMS gym brought both emotion and quality competition. Being honored that evening were Chloe Gentile (c) Gia Vlajkovic (c) Ava McSorley, Anna Shoemaker, Emma Desmond and Ruth Breen.
Pre-game ceremonies included heartfelt speeches from underclassmen, including a sister-to-sister speech from junior Grace Gentile to sibling Chloe Gentile that prompted tears. While the Warriors certainly brought their A-game, and proved pesky and defensively strong in their three sets, they fell to Melrose in sets of 27-25, 25-17, 25-20.
Melrose then traveled to Burlington on Monday, Oct. 23, hoping to secure their league title against the Red Devils who historically push Melrose for league title rights. For the girls in red and white, it was mission accomplished, though it took 5 sets to do it against a talented Burlington team. Melrose won in sets of 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 25-8, 10-15.
Leading scorers include Gia Vlajkovic (20 kills) and Chloe Gentile (18 kills). The duo effectively shut down Red Devil Chloe Abuto and a potent Red Devil frontline offense and blocking unit. Melrose setter Ruth Breen earned an impressive 46 assists over the night.
Two Melrose players have emerged in recent efforts as game changers—Burlington not excluded. Melrose sophomore Leah Fowke has stepped into a role as back up setter, but it’s her serving that has proved lethal in recent games and against Burlington she had 10 serving points (51 on the season).
Senior Anna Shoemaker has also come into her own, earning 10 against Burlington and 9 in Melrose’s Senior Night game against Wakefield and (an impressive 78 kills to the season). Teammate Sadie Jaggers continued her strong season with 10 kills against Burlington.
Among the highlights in the 5 sets against Burlington were a quick 6 kills from Chloe Gentile in set 1 when Melrose won, 25-22. Sadie Jaggers was on fire in set two with several block kills while Gentile had a quality service run and a slide set up by setter Ruth Breen that helped Melrose stay neck in neck with Burlington. Melrose ultimately fell due to poor service errors, 19-25.
Melrose’s Gia Vlajkovic dominated set 3 with 6 kills in a set that saw Melrose fall 21-25. Down 2-1, Melrose would have to dig deep and use all reserves and they did so in set 4 and 5 for victory. Set 4 was highlighted by 4 kills each from Gentile and Vlajkovic and great serving from Vlajkovic, three timely kills from Shoemaker, great serving from Ruth Breen, saving digs from Ava McSorley and Grace Gentile, and a block kill by Chloe Gentile to settle the set with a 25-8 dominant win by Melrose.
Libero Emma Desmond was particularly strong in the Burlington effort, fending off a few powerful Red Devil hitters with 24 serve receipts an 11 digs. Ruth Breen and Ava McSorley also shined at the serving line.
Chloe Gentile, Anna Shoemaker and Gia Vlajkovic had the most command in set five and it started with an ace by Leah Fowke to give Melrose an early 5-3 edge. Melrose was able to shut down Red Devil Chloe Abuto with a critical block kill from the Gentile/Vlajkovic duo at the 12th point, and soon after Gentile brought it downtown on the service line to finish the job, 15-10, for the fifth and deciding set victory.
This Friday evening Melrose will host Stoneham for their final regular season game at 5:30 p.m. Playoff seedings are expected on Monday afternoon. See our social media pages or visit the miaa site at www.miaa.net.