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Sports

Red Raiders Bounce Back in Volleyball Win, Qualify For Tournament

The Lady Raiders (10-1) collected a confident 3-0 win over Middlesex League rivals Belmont at Belmont High School, and officially qualified for the Division II North tournament.

Any doubts about how the Melrose High girls volleyball team would bounce back from its first loss of the season Monday against Central Catholic have officially been put to rest.

The Lady Raiders (10-1) collected a confident, 3-0, win over Middlesex League rival Belmont at Belmont High School, and officially qualified for the Div. II North tournament.

"We lost on Monday night to Central Catholic," said Melrose head coach Scott Celli, "So we rebounded pretty good ... we actually qualified for the tournament today."

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Led by the play of senior Athena Ziavras, Melrose started off strong, and rolled to a one-sided 25-8 victory in the first game.

"In the first game, we really came out and attacked well," said Celli. "Then, as the match went along we stopped communicating, we started making some unforced errors out there, but overall I was very happy."

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The Marauders (4-6) capitalized on their opponents miscues, and with the score 24-17 in favor of Melrose, looked as though they might mount a comeback, scoring three straight points before ultimately falling 25-20. Heloisha Caurin played especially well in the second game for Belmont during a strong performance overall for the middle hitter that saw her finish with 3 solo blocks for the Marauders.

"(Heloisha) blocked and hit very well today for us," said Belmont head coach Emily Hossfeld. "I think all in all, everyone put in a strong effort."

The Lady Raiders got back on track in the final game however, scoring the first ten points on the way to a 25-14 victory. Ziavras finished with 13 kills for Melrose, while Brooke Bell posted an impressive 25 assists. Jill Slabacheski also impressed with 16 kills, while Sydney Doherty also stepped up and put in a fine performance for Melrose.

For the Marauders, Erin McGlashen finished with 10 digs, four kills and was a perfect 10-for-10 from service, while Juhee Park collected 12 digs, three kills and was 11-for-12 serving, with 2 aces on the afternoon.

Next up for the Lady Raiders will be another tough Middlesex League tilt on the road against Burlington on Friday. Melrose is 8-0 on the year in league play and will be looking to keep that perfect mark intact.

"If we play to our capabilities," said Celli, "then I feel pretty confident."

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