MARBLEHEAD — Despite dropping the opening set of its match Thursday evening, the Marblehead volleyball team rallied back to notch a 3-1 win over Northeastern Conference foe Beverly in a back-and-forth game at home. The Magicians won by set scores of 24-26, 25-17, 25-17. 25-22.
“It was just so nice to get back out there and play a game again,” said Marblehead coach Killeen Miller. “With such a short preseason, we almost felt a little unprepared going out onto the court. But we know everyone is in the same boat and we just wanted to come out and compete hard. Beverly is a super competitive team and it was great to pull out the win.”
Keira Sweetnam had nine kills for the Magicians, while Anna Schluter and Lilah Thompson added seven kills each. Setter Julia Potvin had 15 assists and six digs, while libero Abby Schwartz added in another 13 digs.
The first set saw nine ties and eight lead changes, with the two teams trading shots back and forth the whole way. Marblehead eventually gained a foothold and pushed its lead to as many as seven points, but Beverly fought right back. But despite the Panthers rallying back to tie the score at 19-19, Marblehead kept its cool and eventually got Beverly to set point with a 24-22 lead. But Beverly responded yet again, rattling off four straight points to take the set 26-24.
The second set was much of the same, with the two sides trading blows back and forth before Marblehead pulled ahead to a 17-13 lead. But this time, the Magicians didn’t let up and closed with an 8-4 run to win the set 25-17.
The third and fourth sets also had the same look and feel, with Marblehead pulling away late to win each time. The Magicians took the third set, 25-17, without too much trouble, but the fourth set was a bit different. Holding a 20-13 lead, Marblehead nearly coughed up the set when Beverly rallied back to make it 20-19. But the Magicians held strong from there, closing the set on a 5-3 run to capture the set and the match.
Marblehead (1-0) plays on the road at Peabody Monday evening (5:30).
“It’s always great to start the season with a win, but we know we have our work cut out for us going forward,” said Miller. “We have such a young team and that’s great in a lot of ways because we’re going to have to step up across the board.”
VOLLEYBALL
Chelmsford 3, Peabody 2
The Tanners lost in a thrilling five-setter, falling by set scores of 25-18, 25-21, 26-28, 22-25, 9-15.
Isabel Bettencourt had a big game with 22 digs and seven kills, while Abby Bettencourt 14 assists, seven kills and four aces, while Alli Flewelling had 11 service points.
Despite taking the first two sets and playing with plenty of momentum, the Tanners could never quite separate themselves from Chelmsford. The Lions remained in the game the whole way, coming from behind in both the third and fourth sets to tie the match and send it to a deciding fifth frame. In the fifth set, Peabody just couldn’t get enough positive momentum going and came up short to Chelmsford.
Peabody (0-1) hosts Marblehead Monday evening (5:30).
Swampscott 3, Winthrop 1
Nickole Fein had 10 kills and two blocks to lead the way for the Big Blue.
Swampscott (1-0) hosts Salem Tuesday (5:30).
Despite the loss, the Vikings were led by their two senior captains Carolyn Kinsella and Caroline Earl. Megan Gouge also played a solid game at libero. Xhona Kokenshi played well defensively and Adyana Barbarisi also made some big plays in their first varsity game.
“I thought we played really well considering this was the first varsity game for some of our players and a few starters,” Winthrop co-coach Rachel DelSolio said. “We did a great job working well together, communicating. The seniors picked everyone up and there was some great energy.”
Winthrop (0-1) travels to Saugus Tuesday (5:30).
