SAUGUS — The Peabody volleyball team came into enemy territory Wednesday night and swept host Saugus, 25-19, 25-14, 25-21.
The Tanners’ senior outside hitter Lizzie Bettencourt was a force, finishing with a game-high 18 kills and 10 service aces. Senior Lorna Demiri added 24 assists..
For Saugus, seniors Pedro Spalenza and Maria Silva had 25 digs apiece.
“I thought they did well,” Peabody coach Sherrill Erickson said. “We had a few lapses with the communication they should be doing, but they came back and we got some girls in there who don’t get to play a lot and they stepped up and really played well.”
Despite the loss, Saugus coach Mikayla Kingstad was pleased with the Sachems’ performance.
“We had a tough loss to Salem yesterday. That’s a team that we somehow struggle with. The pieces of the puzzle just don’t go together for us, so the way we played tonight was like a completely different team,” Kingstad said. “I’m very happy with the way we played tonight. I knew we had our hands full tonight, but I am glad with the way they did it.”
Leading 1-0, the Tanners jumped out to a 16-7 lead behind several big hits from Bettencourt. Saugus freshman middle hitter Ava Foley (7 kills) stopped the run with a kill down the middle. With Foley serving, the Sachems cut the deficit to 16-11 on a Peabody error and a winner from senior Sophia Desmond.
Peabody extended its lead to 21-14, then turned back to Bettencourt, who served out the set. Junior Kaylee DeNicola sealed the frame with a winner off a Bettencourt setup to put the Tanners up 2-0.
The third set was the closest of the match. Trailing 8-4, the Sachems went on a 6-0 run on Silva’s serve to take an 11-8 lead. With the score tied at 13, Peabody answered with a 7-0 run to regain control at 20-13.
Saugus battled back. An ace from Spalenza and a kill by Megan Xavier cut it to 23-21, but the Sachems got no closer.
Truth be told, the Sachems had no answers and struggled off Bettencourt’s serve the entire match.
When asked why her serve was so tough to handle, both coaches said the secret to her success is all about her wrist snap.
“I think it’s just a hard serve. She snaps her wrist every time she hits the ball whether she’s serving or hitting,” Erickson said. “Her wrist snap is just so tough.”
“She has a little floater jump serve and the way she follows through with her hand makes it float, so as the ball comes over the net it’s always moving and shading right to left,” Kingstad said. “You always have to stay on your toes. It’s one of the hardest serves to pass.”
Erickson highlighted the play of seniors Sophia Coburn and Sydney Lynch, along with DeNicola.
“Sophia played great today. She had some nice hits and blocks at the net,” Erickson said. “Sydney also played great. As libero, she’s in the game all the time, and Kaylee also played very well. All of her hits were in today. Sometimes she tends to hit it out a bit, but she kept everything in and also stepped up passing the ball.”
Kingstad praised Foley and Silva.
“Ava plays club so she knows the fundamentals of playing the middle, which I think is the hardest position. She’s really outshined what I thought she was going to do,” Kingstad said. “Maria is an animal in the back row and she’s the type of player who is going to put her body on the floor before she lets a ball hit the ground. She’s a great server, too.”
Peabody (7-4) visits Malden Catholic on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
“We beat them in three, so they’re going to be out to get us,” Erickson said. “Our first match was a good match, pretty even keel, so I expect it will be a good game.”
Saugus (5-6) travels to Stoneham on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
“We’ve never played them so all I know is what I see on film,” Kingstad said. “We had a lot of three-game weeks so the girls are exhausted. Luckily we have a nice break until our next game. We’re going in there expecting everything, expecting great dominant play, so hopefully we can get adjusted in the first set and go from there.”
