The scores were, 25-13, 25-17, 27-25.

“With such a good defensive team, they were eventually going to make some mistakes,’’ said coach Scott Celli. “It was just a matter of us going out there and playing a complete game.’’

Trailing Barnstable by five points, senior captain Laura Irwin pounded in two kills, one of which was a conflict call, to give Melrose a 25-25 tie in the final game.

“We never stopped and there weren’t any lulls,’’ said Irwin.

Senior Alex Harlow spiked another volley for an ace. Irwin had a smart tight tip over the net to finish 27-25 and avenge Melrose’s 3-0 loss to Barnstable last year.

“We wanted revenge. Our goal now is to make it to the end,’’ said Irwin.

In the first game, Melrose dominated play, keenly spotting holes on the Barnstable court. Melrose was constantly tipping, allowing Irwin and fellow senior captain Hannah Brickley to shine with their remarkable offensive play. Barnstable (10-1) was forced to put up double and triple blocks.

“We had the best game we’ve ever played. We expected everything from them . . . and this just adds to our success,’’ said Brickley (18 kills).

Game 2 was tight, but Melrose maintained the advantage, keeping Barnstable on the defensive, hitting the Red Raiders hard with consistent kills.

“We attacked the whole match,’’ Celli said.“We’d like to feed off of this one. For us to be successful we have to sustain that for the rest of the year.’’

Colleen Hanscom contributed 28 assists, with Irwin and senior Siena Mamayek combining for 16 kills. Libero Jessica Farr anchored the defense. The girls owed much of their success to Celli.

“He is the one that is always preaching teamwork and he’s constantly there pushing us,’’ Irwin said.