Melrose tops Burlington on Sr. Night; playoffs this week
Published November 1, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—It was a remarkable game of volleyball played on Thursday, Oct. 24 at the MVMMS gym when two Freedom League heavyweights faced off for the league title—both with identical records. Melrose hosted the Burlington Red Devils and avenged a previous loss of the season in a 3-1 victory that earned them a share of the league title and their 17th win of the season. Melrose enters the playoffs this week 5th seeded at 17-3.
The Burlington win was arguably the victory of the season and had a jam packed gymnasium on their feet. It was also the perfect way to cap off Senior Night.
Melrose’s ace, senior captain Emma Randolph, continued to steamroll over the competition with 20 kills. Melrose’s entire senior class had the games of their season with seniors Mary Kate Mahoney and Nicole Abbott performing set-saving digs on the floor. Abbott had a huge 26 digs while fellow senior captain Erin Torpey had 13 kills and several aces.
Underclassmen also rose to the occasion too as setter Eva Haralabatos served flawlessly and had 38 assists while freshman find Chloe Gentile had a massive 15 kills, including a set winner.
After the game, an elated Melrose coach Scott Celli credited his team but gave special homage to his seniors, Marie Maher, Grace Davis, Claire Abuja, captain Erin Torpey, captain Nicole Abbott, Mary Kate Mahoney, and captain Emma Randolph, who were all honored that evening during Senior Night. He said, “This group of seniors have been amazing leaders for the program over the past four years.”
In set one, Melrose and Burlington battled a tight contest with ties at points 3 and 6 before the Red Devils pulled away behind the hitting of Shannon Joyce and Kelly Joyce. Emma Randolph had 4 kills in the set, but Melrose dropped set one 25-19. But from there, Melrose put their foot on the gas and didn’t let up. Set 2 was an absolute battle. Burlington took an early lead but Emma Randolph battled hard with giant kills while Eva Harabalatos served up aces for Melrose to rally to a 9-9 tie. Chloe Gentile made it 10-9 and Emily Hudson helped Melrose stay up 16-14. Gentile and Elena Soukos had a beautiful block-kill that kept Melrose up 22-19. And finally Gentile delivered the set winner for a 25-22 win that tied the game up 1-1. In the set, Randolph had 6 kills and Gentile, 5.
Set three saw hitting from Chloe Gentile and aces from senior captain Nicole Abbott which helped Melrose take an early lead of 8-3. Burlington kept it very close in a series of ties, but serving was key and Melrose’s Abbott and Haralabatos didn’t fail, helping Melrose take a critical 18-17 edge. Three straight kills by Erin Torpey and two from Emily Hudson (7 kills total) kept Melrose up 23-20 and an ace on the serving line by Nicole Abbott sealed the deal, giving Melrose an important 2-1 game edge.
The decisive set 4 saw Melrose in control. Randolph and Gentile pounded the ball in the first 10 points (7 kills and 5 respectively) while Emily Hudson and Erin Torpey fired away, taking the game out of the Red Devil’s hands. A final kill from Emma Randolph finished the job and Melrose’s team showed jubilation on the court as they relished their 15th league title in 17 years.
Senior captains Nicole Abbott, Emma Randolph and Erin Torpey spoke after the game about the come-from-behind victory. Randolph appreciated the importance of it. “This was a statement game. We lost in our first game against them [Burlington] when we struggled with our outside hitting. But tonight we worked on getting hands on the ball, slowing it down to make it easier for our back row, and once we get that good first pass our hitting was unstoppable.”
Libero Nicole Abbott agreed and her efforts were nearly flawless. For that, she credits her teammates. “Getting help up front really helped us defensively.”
Against hard-hitting Burlington players, Melrose needed to have a peak defensive performance. Mission accomplished.
Said senior captain Erin Torpey, “Battling in set one, we let them tip the ball in the middle of the court where the holes were and we adjusted our defense and handled those tips.”
Melrose went on to play and beat Wilmington on Saturday but fell to Div. 1 Central Catholic on Monday. They enter playoffs at 17-3 and this week drew a 5th seed in a brutally tough Div. 2 North Bracket. Melrose was slated to host Whittier on Thursday (post deadline). Their biggest obstacles will be Danvers and Lynnfield. Melrose will eventually have to beat Lynnfield to get to the Div. 2 North final and is poised to face Whittier Tech and possibly Lynn Classical on Tuesday. Fans are encouraged to visit www.miaa.net or visit our social media pages for up-to-date game information.