MARBLEHEAD — The Peabody volleyball team (3-1) got the better of Marblehead (2-1) Tuesday evening in four sets (25-22, 25-14, 13-25, 25-16). From never-give-up digs to powerful spikes, this one had it all.
The first set was back-and-forth and saw Peabody come out strong, winning the first four points before taking an early 8-5 lead.
Despite a late 7-1 Marblehead run to cut Peabody’s lead to one (23-22), Peabody scored two consecutive points to win the first set thanks to an ace from Lizzy Bettencourt.
“First set is huge walking into this building. Marblehead always has an amazing team. They are always so well-prepared. They have great coaches and a great staff,” Keene said. “Winning that first set without our starting six was big.”
After winning the first set, the Tanners rode that momentum to a convincing 25-14 win in the next.
“Peabody came out super strong tonight. Those kids always come to battle. At the end of the day, they made some really smart choices and kept the ball in play,” Marblehead coach Killeen Miller said. “We erred in ourselves tonight and let opportunities go by the wayside.”
Trailing by two sets, Miller told her team to “trust” their system and “play together.”
“I think a lot of the time, kids get wrapped up in getting the kill or trying to be the hero,” she said. “This is a group that needs to work together and collaborate. We need to be a group to play well, which we did, especially in the third game.”
In the third set, the Magicians flashed their potential. Marblehead had more energy and rode the momentum to a 19-5 lead. Megan Parkman was all over the court, making plays from beginning to end to keep the hosts alive.
Then, an emphatic spike from Deysha Amadis got Marblehead to within two points (23-9) of winning the third set.
“Deysha Amadis had a fantastic day. What she did can bring so much energy and make the whole group play up. I think she had a tremendous day,” Miller said.
The Magicians didn’t let the momentum slip, closing out the third set with a block from Luka Bornhorst.
Between the third and fourth sets, Keene spoke to her players about “playing their game.” The result: a 25-13 set to clinch another win on the young season.
“These girls are capable, smart, athletic, and have a high IQ. Whether it’s volleyball, athletics, academics, or anything, they’re a smart group,” Keene said. “These kids enjoy playing with each other and they get along. It was just a matter of getting the job done.”
One move that Keene made in the fourth set – which helped the Tanners find their offense – was moving Ava Ruffing to a new position.
“I moved Ava Ruffing from middle to outside and it clicked right away for her. She had a block, a couple of kills, and she did a great job,” Keene said.
Keene also highlighted three key performances.
“Abby and Lizzy Bettencourt played well tonight. They always have phenomenal games,” she said. “In addition to them, Sydney Lynch had a good game. She had to move into the libero role.”
Miller said she saw flashes of the offensive potential her young team has.
“We’ve got to keep moving forward and trusting our systems,” Miller said. “A big goal for us this week was to work on our offense and I feel we saw glimmers of that tonight. Changes won’t happen overnight, but we’re going to keep working on finding the court.”
The Magicians don’t have time to think about the loss for too long as they have a match on Wednesday, which Miller believes is the best way to bounce back.
“It’s a great opportunity to battle back. We have a game tomorrow. It’s not the time to sit in your loss. It’s the time to ask yourself, ‘How do I be better tomorrow?’” Miller said. “Being a young team, I believe that is a huge area of focus for us this year.”
Marblehead’s game is against Winthrop at 6 p.m. The Tanners will travel to cross-town rival Fenwick on Thursday with the game scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
