MARBLEHEAD — Every single point was earned, not given, on Tuesday night in Marblehead’s four-set victory over Danvers. The Magicians won in set scores of 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, and 25-18.
There were no easy scores in the contest due to superb defensive efforts on both sides. Throughout the match, there were countless volleys that seemed to last an eternity, with players diving to save balls left and right in what was a stellar display of grit and determination.
Danvers had all the momentum early on. After a fault on the first serve of the game by Marblehead, Danvers quickly got out to a 6-1 lead in the first set. Moments later, an ace by star senior Kiera Sweetnam cut the lead to 8-5 and got Marblehead started on a small rally that tied the set at 10 apiece. Danvers didn’t panic and the Falcons regained control of the set – going up 18-14 before Marblehead Head Coach Kileen Miller was forced to call a timeout. Danvers finished off the set after the timeout and the Falcons appeared to momentarily stun a Magician team that has only lost three times this season.
From the second set on, however, Marblehead regrouped and never looked back. A couple of strong serves from libero Caitlin Parkman got the Magicians out to a 5-1 lead. The energy in the gymnasium began to shift with every point that Marblehead scored, and the intensity for the Red and Black steadily rose throughout the contest.
Danvers remained stingy though and kept the set close. One of the longest rallies of the game came with Marblehead up 20-17 – neither team could put away a kill when, finally, a ball came flying over the net in the direction of Isabel Wabno who kept the ball off the ground. It went sailing towards the back right side of the court, way out of bounds. However, Parkman chased it down and sent the ball back towards Wabno who slammed the ball over to Danvers’ side. The ball hit the hardwood and Wabno and her teammates jumped in the air and yelled in excitment. The team’s defensive efforts were the difference in the second set, and the match was tied at one set apiece.
Parkman had 19 assists and Wabno totaled 17 with seven kills. After the match, Miller talked about the adjustments made after the first set loss.
“We started moving our hitters around a little bit more. That’s something that we strive to do all year,” she said. “Just be super intentional with what we do. If we’re being shut down in one place, we’ve got another place to go.”
The third set proved that volleyball is indeed a game of runs. Marblehead got out to a scorching 11-3 lead thanks to a series of hard-hitting kills by Sweetnam. The Falcons stormed back with a stunning 14-4 run that put them ahead, 17-15. Like a ping pong match, Marblehead snatched the momentum back and took a 23-20 lead after trailing by four. Danvers was forced to call a timeout, but the break in action failed to benefit Danvers and Marblehead was one set away from a win.
Sweetnam has been an offensive machine for Marblehead all year. Last week, the senior recorded her 500th career kill as a member of the varsity team. She added to that total against Danvers with 22.
The fourth set was another back-and-forth duel for the first half, but Marblehead pulled away, going up 19-13 before outlasting a late comeback effort by the Falcons to win the set by seven, giving the Magicians their 14th win on the year.
Setters Tamya Johnson and Julia Potvin combined for a whopping 46 assists in the match. Defensively, Marblehead got a number of its points off blocked shots – the effort led by Lucy Sabin who had five blocks, and Maddie Cole who tacked on four.
After a tough loss to Masconomet last week, the Magicians have bounced back with wins against Notre Dame Academy and Danvers. With two regular season matchups remaining, Sweetnam said the team’s most recent victories have boosted morale heading into the postseason.
“I think we’re in a great place mentally. We had one really tough loss at Masco, I think we bounced back against two pretty great teams,” she said. “After the Ipswich game on Friday, I think we’ll be fully ready to go into the playoffs.”
There’s no doubt that going up against a one-loss Ipswich team in the regular season finale will get the Magicians ready for playoff action, but the team must first focus on a home match against rival Swampscott this Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Ryan Vermette can be reached at [email protected]
