PEABODY ― The Peabody volleyball team secured its seventh straight win, defeating the Salem Witches 3-0 on Wednesday evening.
“I think we played really well,” said Peabody head coach Lisa Keene. “It’s always nice to have home-court advantage. We still have a lot of stuff that we are working on, but one of the best advantages of today was getting a lot of other players in that haven’t had as much playing time.”
The Tanners got off to a fast start, jumping out in front 9-1 in the first set. Salem called a timeout in an attempt to stop Peabody’s momentum but the service provided from senior captain Sarah Broughton was too much for the Witches to handle as they lost the first set 25-4.
Broughton struck four aces in the first set alone while Peabody also got help from junior captain Isabel Bettencourt, who had two aces as well as one kill.
Salem coach Craig Massey said after the match that his side was clearly not ready for Peabody’s strong serving.
“They serve really, really strong and they pass very well, and they just keep pressure on you,” he said.
The second set was a much closer battle, with both sides trading points to start the set. Once again, service was the X-factor for the Tanners as they edged out to a 10-5 lead. Junior Michaela Alperen had an impressive showing in the set, tallying two of her three total aces in the second set.
After the close start, Peabody took the second set 25-15.
The Tanners were once again able to get out in front early, scoring five unanswered points and leading Salem 6-1. The Witches attempted to claw back, narrowing the deficit to 19-10, but Peabody proved too powerful and took the third and final set 25-11.
Sophomore Abby Bettencourt also had an impressive game for the Tanners, racking up 12 assists in the win over Salem.
Massey said that his side will learn from the loss and switch up some things on offense.
“We need to vary our offense,” the Salem coach said. “We got too reliant on setting the same position. We need to be more dynamic on what we are doing offensively.”
Peabody is now 8-3 on the season and faces North Reading at home on Friday (5). Salem fell to 5-7 and faces Beverly in their next matchup on Oct. 13 (4).
