Melissa volleyball has prospered the past season and ended ranked second in the hardest district, 4A Region ll District that they have been placed in. After last night’s game against Crandall at Rowlett High School Melissa’s record overall is 29-12. The outcome of the tough game was 3-1. Set one Melissa was down 0-6, with heart and dedication the finished score was 25-23. Although Melissa won the first set, Crandall came back toward the end and carried the momentum of set one to set two.

Set two, Melissa went ahead with a 7-1 lead, then with the thought of having the game in their hands they handed the game over to Crandall. Crandall took set two, 24-26, with an intense ending Melissa snapped back into game mode and dominated set 3. The third set Melissa took the game 25-13 and left the crowd and bench in awe with the amazing comeback. While in the huddle, Amanda Kocsis talked about the amount of effort they needed to put into the game and trust they have to have in each other to execute this last set. Set 4, score 27-25, modeled how Melissa volleyball has played from the battle of each point.

“We were losing 19-23 when I took the last timeout and we talked about how to defend #2 then made a change in the back row for offense. And we tied the match up. The first thing I felt was proud of the players for continuing to fight and a little bit of pride that I was able to make adjustments to let us to come back then relieved we get to play again,” Coach DePaolo said about the fourth set last night.

Being a player it is a great feeling after a hard fight to end with a win. Running out and all hugging each other shows not only the coaches but the fans that volleyball means a lot to us and we have a far way to go. With a quick turnaround Melissa will take on Sanger at Frisco Independence Thursday, Nov. 3, where Melissa will have to battle for another win to get past round two of playoffs. Playoffs looks bright for Melissa volleyball and no game is taken for granted, each point counts.