LYNN— Hopes were high for the Classical volleyball team heading into Thursday afternoon’s Division 2 North first round match between No. 11 Melrose and the No. 6 Rams at St. Mary’s. Classical had its high moments in the match, including a dominant second set, but the Red Raiders never lost control. Melrose walked away with a 3-1 match win to advance to the quarter finals. Set scores were 25-12, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15.
Classical finished the year at 17-4 and set a program record for most wins in a season. The Rams played the majority of their season on the road as the school’s gymnasium’s currently being refurbished.
“These girls had the most wins in school history, they had a 12-game winning streak,” Classical coach Frank DeLuca said. “We only lost to Danvers, Peabody and Marblehead. We went to five sets with Marblehead and Peabody. If we had won one of those sets, we would’ve been conference champion. We’ve never been that competitive. I think we opened some eyes.
“This is probably the best season we’ve had. Hopefully we can take that nevel level and go out with the elite teams now.”
Top performers for Classical in Thursday’s match were Maggie McHale (four kills, five block assists, two solo blocks), Shanelle Belmer-Barry (three kills, two block assists), Skyler Crayton (two kills, two block assists), Pamela Diaz (12 service points, 10 digs), Amber Crayton (14 service points, nine digs) and Jenna Tobin (nine digs).
The first set looked as though it’d go Classical’s way when the Rams sprinted out to a quick lead. Once Melrose gained command of the set, the Red Raiders never looked back. Melrose grabbed seven consecutive points to take a 10-6 lead and forced a Classical timeout. Needing to regroup, the Rams couldn’t get it done. Melrose went on a 10-3 run after Classical’s timeout and won the set, 25-12.
The Rams made sure to forget about their early woes in the second set. Classical flipped the switch and ran out to an 11-1 lead but Melrose didn’t go down without giving Classical a fight. The Red Raiders came within one point, down 24-23, before the Rams escaped with a 25-23 set win. Amber Crayton logged 10 service points in the second set.
“Amber on her serving allowed us to get a nice lead,” DeLuca said. “We were able to hold on. We made some adjustments to the back line to try to stop them from getting their kills from their big girls up front. They were able to dig a bunch of them out.”
Set No. 3 was back and forth for the most part until Melrose started to mount a hefty lead in the latter stretch. A Classical miscue gave Melrose a 20-11 lead and the Rams took a timeout. The Red Raiders finished the set on a high note for the 25-15 win.
Melrose held the lead throughout the fourth set but the Rams hung close until the end. Classical ran out of steam toward the end of the set and Melrose grabbed the 25-15 win to clinch the match victory.
“We were in it the whole time,” DeLuca said. “The girls played really hard. I can’t fault their effort, they played great. We always come out slow. If we came out a bit faster in that first set maybe we could’ve snuck that one out and it would’ve changed everything. They played well, they played hard and I don’t think we were outclassed by them.”
Classical graduates five seniors from this year’s roster. They are McHale, Belmer-Barry, Skyler Crayton, Tobin and Keysha Chevannes.
