"Worst" House

Keywords: Massachusetts postseason girls volleyball

Among the biggest reasons players play and fans watch sports is competition. The biggest problem (not a new phenomenon) with many of the regular season games is the lack of competition, as, at least in high school volleyball, eighty percent of the time or more, the outcome is known before the game. There may not be another sport as sharply divided between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. The successful teams usually have infrastructure (especially offseason participation), superior coaching, and a winning tradition.

Sitting before a basketball game several years ago, we overheard the opposing players talking about doing well "if we only lost by thirty points." What you can control going into a match are preparation, effort, and attitude. As for defeatism, "that dog don't hunt."

As we move along in the tournament, many attractive games appear on the tournament brackets. In Division I North, an Andover/Central Catholic matchup would create plenty of excitement, although North Andover and Methuen will work to keep that from happening. Andover and Central are the Hatfields and McCoys of the Merrimack Valley and always bring enthusiastic supporters. For Methuen facing Central, super-athletic Rashidat Agboola has over four kills per game and a basketball scholarship to BU. Central counters with uber-setter crafty Carolyn Eddy.

In the South D1 Semifinals, powerhouse Barnstable runs up against undefeated New Bedford, for the right to face the Marshfield/Brockton winner. You can never count the champion out, and Barnstable could be peaking at the right time. Junior Maura Manley of New Bedford has over 300 kills and over five kills per game. For Barnstable, Maribeth Martin has over 500 assists this season.

In D2 Central, two good games appear, with defending champion Medfield hosting Westboro and Hopkinton hosting Medway. The Medfield-Westboro match winner will be favored to capture a Final Four slot.

The D2 South brackets have shown that strength of schedule matters, with Bishop Feehan's rigorous nonleague schedule potentially the tempering needed to propel them into a final with favored perennial power Bourne, if they get by the Fontbonne Ducks.

What we can say is that the next ten days will give us the best opportunity to see the best local high school volleyball. Which is why we watch.

Lady Raider Notes: Congratulations to setter Colleen Hanscom signing a letter of intent to play basketball for Post. Melrose travels to Jamaica Plain tomorrow night for their 7 p.m. match with undefeated Boston English. Travel time and parking are unknowns for local fans.

Melrose Advances Over Crusaders, 3-0

The Melrose Lady Raiders have won their first round playoff game for the last eight seasons, and kept the streak alive hosting Lowell Catholic 25-4, 25-11, 25-8. Melrose advances to face top-seeded Boston English in Jamaica Plain Thursday.

The postseason brings a certain pageantry and excitement not always seen during the regular season. Melrose transformed that into a high level of energy in game one, with a 13-1 lead, fourteen kills and seven aces. Setter Colleen Hanscom fired up the offense and the twin Princesses of Whales, Hannah Brickley and Laura Irwin, blasted home six and four kills. Siena Mamayek added a pair of successful attacks as well.

Coach Scott Celli saw his troops go off to an 11-0 lead, and the substitution was on, as everyone got into the action. Hannah added another four kills and Laura three more. The team led coasted to an easy 17-3 lead before some inconsistency amidst lineup shuffling and four service errors brought LC back from 22-4 to 22-10. A Mamayek kill erased the momentum and the Lady Raiders closed out the game.

Game three was the Futures Game, with Melrose starting a pair of frosh, Brooke Bell (setter) and Amanda Commito (defensive specialist), two sophomores, Jill Slabacheski and Alyssa DiRaffaele, and a junior Athena Ziavras. And the Kiddie Korps didn't disappoint, going out 7-1, and 12-3, behind some strong play especially with three aces from Jill and three kills from Alyssa. The beatdown went on with strong setting from Brooke, and solid positional defense. Sophomore Brittany Adelman got her first playoff kill, and Annmarie Wiesen was strong around the net.

The defense really did get challenged much tonight, and the digging duo of Jess Farr and Alex Harlow will likely get more of a workout Thursday.

Lady Raider Notes: a politely enthusiastic crowd greeted the athletes tonight, and fans and players honored current and former veterans before the game. Congratulations to Winchester for their good showing as an expansion team in the Middlesex League.

A victory Thursday would send Melrose into the Division II North finals for the seventh consecutive season. This group of seniors has the opportunity to be the first Melrose volleyball team to win a state title, and will have some stiff competition as they climb that hill.

Always verify the game time before travel.

Here are directions from Mapquest.com.

Playoff Preview: Lowell Catholic Tomorrow

Melrose (19-1) hosts Lowell Catholic Tuesday night in the Division 2 North quarterfinals. The quarterfinals allows the full squad the chance to get exposed to playoff pressure and build momentum before heading into subsequent rounds.

Here is a link to the Lowell Catholic official volleyball site.

Melrose comes in with this group of seniors looking to advance to their fourth Division 2 North sectional finals, with the opportunity to win their first D2N title. Melrose returned four Middlesex League all-stars this season, Hannah Brickley, Jess Farr, Colleen Hanscom, and Laura Irwin.

Melrose relied on diversified offense, athletic blockers, and vastly improved back row defense...to compete against some of the consistent powers in Massachusetts volleyball, Barnstable, Central Catholic, Canton, and Bishop Feehan.

Come out to the Middle School Gymnasium to support your team Tuesday, November 10th at 7:00 P.M.

Bracketology (Updated)

Click charts to enlarge.Winchester deserves some credit for what they've accomplished in their first year of organized volleyball. They brought in college coaches from Tufts and Williams to get some additional experience, made the tournament, won their first game, and certainly have a chance against Boston English. The city schools generally don't have the infrastructure and facilities (at least yet) to be at the top of the heap, but one does sense that they're improving.

Despite facing the one seed, Bedford could easily advance to the sectional semi, and gave Melrose something of a headache when they met in 2007 in an early round game.
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Bourne and Bishop Feehan look like the favorites in the South, with Bourne appearing in the state championship final in 2006 and 2007. Feehan's record is deceptive, with five losses, but all coming at the hands of Medfield, Westborough, and Melrose.
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And in the "black and blue" division, the uber-tough Central, some terrific quarterfinal action coming up with experienced teams and strong coaching.

Countdown

Melrose hosts Lowell Catholic next week, as LC topped O'Bryant 3-1.

This week the Lady Raiders did some team building activities, including a bowling outing.

And they capped off the week's activity outpointing (unofficially) top-ranked Central Catholic in a high octane scrimmage at the Middle School Gym. Central came in undefeated with super setter Carolyn Eddy, the best player I've seen this season. They also have BC bound Katie Z and Kendall Desrosiers, a pair of 6' 2" bombers who can hit over and down.

All that notwithstanding, Melrose hit around and through the Central blockers for decisive margins in the first two games (unofficially). Colleen Hanscom was particularly effective as setter and additional defender, and the frontcourt passing among Hannah Brickley, Laura Irwin, and Jill Slabacheski in particular was outstanding. Siena Mamayek brought her usual defensive excellence at the net, and the underappreciated back row did their thing almost flawlessly.

Everyone did their job and quality meant the job was won.

Massachusetts Volleyball Post-Season Preview: Central Division

The postseason heats up with local attention faced on the Lady Raiders, but the Massachusetts volleyball epicenter begins in the Central regional. All discussions begin with Medfield, winner of three of the past four Division 2 state titles. Melrose knows Medfield well, having lost in the 2005 finals 3-2 to the Warriors. In addition to facing a tough league schedule, Medfield hosted and won the "Open Date" Tournament and beat Barnstable in the lions' den.

Defender Allyson Le-Bruno leads the Warrior defense while Georgia Naumann and Morganne Gagne lead the Medfield offense with 171 and 133 kills. Naumann sports an impressive 44 percent kill percentage.
But in the Maxpreps.com rankings, along with Medfield are central D2 teams Westboro, Marlboro, Hopkinton, and Medway. Melrose fell 3-2 in 2003 to ultimate state champion Marlboro. Canton, with their impressive 17-2 record, including a loss to Melrose, checks in with a second seed in the sectional.

Westboro, like Melrose, sports a trio of 100 plus kill hitters, led by Kasey Kraus with 162.

Medfield is not afraid to hit 'down the line' from the strong side of the court.

All the teams come into the tournament with the same record, 0-0. Peaking at the right time, health, and stepping up at the big moment determine who will wear the crown in the Central, and have the right to face the D2 North Champion.

Melrose Hosts Playoff Game Tuesday at 7

Click bracket to enlarge.

The MIAA released the volleyball post-season schedule today.

As most of you know, Melrose plays in the Division 2 North region.Seedings follow winning percentage. Teams under .500 can qualify under the so-called "Sullivan Rule."
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Melrose hosts the winner of the O'Bryant-Lowell Catholic first round game. I've heard players call the post-season "the best time of the year", when the top teams compete for the right to survive and advance.