Melrose mismatch: 6-foot-6-inch hitter Sabine Wenzel teams up with setter Leah Fowke for a terrific tandem

At 6 feet, 6 inches, junior hitter Sabine Wenzel is a major presence at the net, teaming with senior setter Leah Fowke (3) to form one of the state's top duos.Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

When Sabine Wenzel rises at the net, she can find angles all across the court. She also knows some defenses are just not prepared for her.

Many volleyball teams feed outside hitters for the majority of their attacks. Wenzel gives Melrose a 6-foot-6-inch mismatch creator in the middle, and the junior is taking on the leader role at the net.

“I love being someone that the team can rely on,” Wenzel said. “If they need someone to finish the ball, I’m there for them. I think it throws the other teams for a loop because outside is usually the main hitter. I can go deep, I can go short, I can go on either side of the block.

“I think it gives us a big advantage.”

The Red Hawks, who advanced to the Division 2 quarterfinals last fall, are off to a 3-1 start and ranked 10th in this week’s Globe Top 20 poll. Wenzel has a team-leading 48 kills.

The strategic difference is not simple. Setting the middle requires precision and consistency. The positioning makes it harder for the middle hitter to adjust to a suboptimal pass. Luckily for Wenzel, her three co-captains — seniors Leah Fowke, Maggie Turner, and Gg Albuja — are experienced passers.

A versatile 5-9 setter with nine years of experience, Fowke has played year-round with Wenzel, developing their connection with indoor and beach volleyball.

“[Fowke] is the calmness that our team needs,” said Melrose coach Scott Celli. “She slows everything down for us. I think she’s one of the top, maybe, 10 players in the state. Everything revolves around her. Her leadership, being a two-year captain for us goes a long way. She never leaves the floor. People follow her. She leads by example.”

The friendship between Wenzel and Fowke started with volleyball and has grown on and off the court, and they have discovered that higher and slower sets unlock more of Wenzel’s abilities.

“With Sabine, since she’s so tall, it’s definitely a lot easier to run a higher ball than a short one,” Fowke said. “When you set it higher to her, she’s able to almost go over the block completely. It’s a huge benefit to us. There’s not many people who can get up to that height. It makes it a lot harder to defend against.”

Wenzel, Fowke, and senior Sofia Papatsoris (23 kills) also are dependable blockers, and it helps the back row, defensively.

“It makes it a lot easier having someone super tall and experienced like Sofia and Sabine,” said Turner, the libero. “We trust our middles and pin blockers to block certain areas, and we cover the rest.”

That defense turns into offense when the first touch can be an accurate pass.

“Me, Leah, and Maggie working together came with practice and experience,” said Albuja, a defensive specialist. “Playing together three to four years now, we’re really ready to use it to our advantage.

“We’ve built our trust tremendously between each other.”

Outside hitting still plays an important role. After Sadie Jaggers — a Globe All-Scholastic hitter who put up 312 kills last season — graduated, senior Caroline Higonenq (35 kills) and junior Emme Boyer (19) have stepped up. The team’s strong presence in the middle opens lanes for the pin hitters.

“Sabine is an awesome hitter, and whenever we have the chance to set middle, Leah will,” Higonenq said. “We trust each other in all aspects. Leah is a great setter. She really does move the ball around, which I think leads us to have so many kills in each game.”

Higonenq was injured (ACL, meniscus) for most of last season, but has come back not only as the team’s top outside hitter, but also its only six-rotation hitter.

“She’s incredible, she plays defense,” said Turner.“Being next to her in the back row, I have as much trust in her as any other player in the back row. ”

With 12 returning players, including nine seniors, the team is primed to push further into the tournament from last year, perhaps contending for a title.

“We’ve been as advertised so far,” Celli said. “We’ve played great defense in the back row, we’ve served well. It sets us up offensively. It allows Leah to run it the way she wants to run it. She’s so smooth as a setter.

“We might get beat, but we swing. We’re on the attack all the time.”

Sabine Wenzel (16) delivered a spike in Wednesday's match vs. Winchester.Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

“[Fowke] is the calmness that our team needs. She slows everything down for us. I think she’s one of the top, maybe, 10 players in the state. Everything revolves around her." SCOTT CELLI, Melrose coach, on Leah Fowke (above).Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

Set points

• With plenty of returning players, Billerica is off to a strong start. The No. 18 Indians are 3-0 without dropping a set so far, including a sweep of Andover.

Junior setter Meghan Downs is making full use of the hitting depth, distributing to net options senior Ella Quin, junior Kendra Marino, and senior Keira Moore.

“Having those bigs up front is one of the components of our success right now, but also my back row,” said coach Brittney Apostolakes. “My libero Melissa Panaligan. Same with Rylie Stromme and Sophia Dasilva.”

The team reached the second round of the Division 2 tournament last season, but laid the foundation for a deeper run of success.

“It didn’t come easy, a lot of prep work, but within the game the girls are relentless,” said Apostolakes. “The grit, the skill, the volleyball IQ, I’m very lucky as a coach to have the team and these girls who are willing to do anything it takes and are working so hard in the offseason and in-season.”

• Westford recorded a big Dual County win with its five-setter over No. 8 Weston. The No. 19 Ghosts won their first three matches, but have a tough league schedule still ahead.

“We try to serve a little more aggressively, but you also make more errors as well,” coach Brandon Eang said. “That’s something we have to live with. I think [Wednesday vs. Hudson] and [Tuesday] against Weston we tried to attack with our serves and that helped us.”

Eang is working on finding his best rotations, but has a lead outside in senior Sophie Krauss and dependable middles in juniors Nora Schweitzer and Kaitlyn Pepin.

Matches to watch

Friday, No. 8 Weston at No. 5 Needham, 4 p.m. — A top-10 battle between a team that returned a majority of starters (Weston) and a squad with a new look (Needham).

Friday, No. 10 Melrose at Wakefield, 6:30 p.m. — A matchup that Melrose swept last season, but it took four sets and then five sets, pits Wakefield coach Kayla Wyland against her former coach Celli.

Wednesday, No. 11 Acton-Boxborough at No. 12 Newton South, 6:15 p.m. — Two strong Dual County League squads face off.

Thursday, Bridgewater-Raynham at Case, 6 p.m. — The 4-0 South Coast leader hosts the 3-0 Southeast Conference leader.