SAUGUS — Despite dropping the opening set of the match, the Peabody volleyball team was able to rally for a 3-1 win over Northeastern Conference foe Saugus Thursday evening at John Towers Gymnasium. The Tanners struggled with some sloppy play in the early going, but they turned it around after the first set. Peabody won by set scores of 22-25, 25-8, 25-17, 26-24.
“I thought there were some moments where we played really well, but we also had plenty of moments where we played pretty poorly,” said Peabody coach Lisa Keene. “Our service game wasn’t good in a couple of the sets and we made some unforced errors, but thankfully we were able to overcome it. We still have plenty of work to do.”
Isabel Bettencourt had a huge game for Peabody, notching 33 assists and adding four kills. Aaliyah Alleyne contributed 16 kills and two blocks, while Sarah Broughton had 10 kills and three aces and Sam Silva had eight kills. Amanda Marmiani had 11 digs, while Sophia Hollingshead had eight digs.
For Saugus, Taylor Bogdanski, Nicole Stewart, Serena Cacciolo and Ryann Maloney all played well.
“Our defense really stepped up, that was the big story,” said Saugus coach Gina Vozzella. “Our offense still needs work, but we were still able to make a bunch of plays out there. We’re trending in the right direction, but we still have a few things that we can work on going forward.”
The first set was back and forth. Peabody jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but Saugus stormed right back and took an 8-7 lead behind some great service play. The Sachems held onto the lead for a few rallies, but eventually Peabody came back to tie it and take a 12-11 lead. In all, there were 16 ties and lead changes over the course of the first set. Finally, Saugus earned an opportunity for set point at 24-22. After a timeout by Peabody, Saugus’ Jenni Costa got a kill to win the set for the Sachems.
But Peabody turned things around in the second set. In by far their most dominant set of the match, the Tanners took a quick 7-1 lead before extending it all the way to 15-5. Saugus managed to get the score as close as 19-8, but then Peabody rattled off six straight points — capped by a service point from Bettencourt — to win the set and tie the match.
The Tanners weren’t quite as dominant in the third set, but they also never trailed. An early 7-3 lead quickly extended to a 22-15 lead, and then a dig from Hollingshead earned the winning point to give Peabody the set and the lead.
The fourth set was a close one like the first. This time, it was Saugus that jumped out to an early lead. Peabody eventually came all the way back to tie the score at 14-14, and then the two teams started trading leads back and forth. Finally, with Saugus holding onto a 24-23 lead with a chance to extend the match, Peabody called timeout. It turned out to be just what was needed, as the Tanners rattled off two straight points to go up 25-24 and set up match point. It all came down to freshman Michaela Alperen, who sent a great serve that earned a service point and sealed the win for Peabody.
Next up for Saugus (1-6) is a matchup with Everett next Monday (5).
“We’re definitely building in the right direction and things are coming together,” Vozzella said. “We play really well when our energy is up, so if we can keep that going then we’ll be in good shape.”
Peabody (2-4) visits North Reading next Monday (5:15).
“It seems like we’ve played a little bit differently on every court we’ve played on this year, so I’m not sure what to expect,” said Keene. “But hopefully we can come out strong and clean up our errors.”
