Upper Merion senior Melanie Ingram became the first volleyball player in school history to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone.
Melanie Ingram, generously listed at 5-7, is hardly an imposing presence on the volleyball court.
Until, that is, you’re playing opposite the Upper Merion senior.
“That’s what’s so amazing,” coach Tony Funsten said. “She reaches for the ball so well. Her arm goes up there, and you think, ‘Whoa, where did that come from? Whose arm is that?’”
In a program that has boasted its share of big finishers at the net, Ingram is at the top of the list. On Thursday night, she became the first player in program history to surpass the 1,000-kill plateau.
“The fact that she has a thousand kills is a tribute to her strength and her volleyball IQ, which is tremendous,” Funsten said. “What gets overlooked – she’s got tremendous ball skills.
“The other day when she got her thousandth kill, she was concentrating on defense and passing serve. She had five kills. She usually has five kills on the first 10 points of the game, but she had five kills in the match. It could be her career low.
“She’s been so consistent and so dependable. Our extended seasons have certainly helped her get a milestone like that, but that’s true of any great player. Great players usually extend their seasons, and that’s why they’re great, so she gets opportunities.”
Ingram knew she was approaching the historic milestone, and she needed just two heading into Thursday’s match against Abington. Appropriately, the historic kill came on a patented Ingram back row attack.
“Someone dove to save the ball, she one-handed it up in the air, and I just went up and killed it,” Ingram said. “I always take swings at out of system balls. I like back row attacks.”
Ingram is dangerous no matter where she is on the court.
“Teams key on her,” Funsten said. “What defines Mel is her well roundedness as a volleyball player. She can hurt you from serving, she can hurt you from hitting, she can hurt you with her defense, and she can hurt you with her passing.
“She can hurt you with her setting. She has two of the softest hands that you ever want to see. Both of our outsides play middle back on defense, and both of them – when we’re out of system and they have to take the ball, they get great sets, and they have those skills.
“Melanie has shown that ability to do what I ask her to do and make adjustments when necessary. Any great player is great because they have confidence in what they can do, and they’re very good at it, but every once in a while you need to make a slight adjustment, and when necessary, Mel has shown that she’ll do that.”
Ingram’s volleyball career began in sixth grade when she began playing for coach Brian McCann’s Mother of Divine Providence CYO team.
“I loved it right away,” she said. “I played soccer, softball and basketball, but I gave up all of those to just keep going with volleyball.”
Volleyball has been a family affair for Ingram, who followed in the steps of older sister Devyn, herself a star player who is now a fixture in the lineup at Holy Family University. The siblings were teammates at Upper Merion for one year.
Interestingly, Melanie broke Devyn’s school record of 969 career kills, but Devyn still holds the single season record of 448 kills.
“She’s happy for me,” Melanie said. “She always kept me going. She’s always encouraged me to never give up, to keep training. (Volleyball) brings us together.”
Devyn, who was in attendance at Thursday’s match, was thrilled to see her sister reach the historic milestone.
“At first when I heard Mel was going to reach a thousand kills, I was surprised, but then I thought about it, and it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Devyn said. “She has been an outstanding volleyball player since the day she stepped onto the court for the first time when I was a senior.
“I always knew she was going to do great through high school.”
Devyn can still recall watching her younger sister playing on her first 12-year-old club team.
“Even then she was a standout player,” Devyn said. “But to watch her develop into such an amazing, well rounded player has been fascinating.
“She can hit, pass, set, and she has an amazing serve. She has superb ball control and great court awareness. She may be short, but she is smart, strong and manages the ball well, and that is why she is able to achieve such an amazing milestone.”
Devyn admits she has been a sometimes tough mentor.
“I try to positively influence Mel always,” she said. “I remind her to be a positive force of energy on the court for her teammates.
“When she was a freshman I was VERY hard on her, but that is only because I knew what she was capable of, and this is exactly that. I couldn’t imagine any other player in the area doing such a thing besides Mel. I couldn’t be happier for her. She is such an amazing player and an amazing person, and I am blessed.”
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