ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON.
Peabody’s Chinenye Onwuogo goes up for a spike.
By Katie Morrison
PEABODY — The Peabody volleyball team has already locked up a spot in the tournament, but there’s still plenty to play for.
The Tanners showed that they’re a force to be reckoned with in the Northeastern Conference, taking down Marblehead in straight sets, 3-0, Thursday evening at Peabody High.
Peabody only plays the Magicians once a season, so the team was looking to avenge last season’s loss to Marblehead.
“We knew this was going to be one of our better, back-and-forth matches,” Peabody coach Lisa Keene said. “I wasn’t surprised at how close the games were. (Marblehead has) such a great team. We made a few mistakes, they made mistakes, but in the end, we battled. It was awesome.”
The Tanners wasted no time in the first set, jumping out to a 12-3 lead, partially thanks to a 6-0 serving run from Alyssa Alperen.
Marblehead started to find rhythm midway through the set, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. Kills from Jenny Norcross and Emma Bushman, as well as an ace from Reilly O’Grady pulled Marblehead within five points at 21-16, but the Tanners bore down and put away the set, 25-16.
The next two sets were much more competitive, and up until the final points, looked as though they could go either way.
Marblehead maintained a lead throughout much of the second set, keeping the Tanners at bay up until an ace from Peabody’s Lexie Zammer tied the set at 18. A couple of Marblehead miscues allowed Peabody to take the lead, and a kill from Melissa Gray made it, 23-21, forcing Marblehead to take a timeout and regroup. Marblehead came back within a point, but couldn’t tie it up and Zammer put the set away with a kill after a long back-and-forth volley, 25-23.
“The girls know that they have to play for every point. Every point, every whistle,” Keene said. “We do a lot of situational practice and really tire ourselves out. I think (coming from behind) shows that our conditioning is really good.”
The Magicians sprinted out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but it was much of the same story. Marblehead led, 16-12, but Peabody came storming back late in the set. With Peabody leading, 20-18, Bushman made an incredible play, diving to keep the play alive and knocking it over the net, where it fell untouched. Even the impressive play wasn’t enough to shift the momentum Marblehead’s way, and Peabody took the set, 25-20.
After beginning the season with nine straight wins, the Magicians have now dropped their last two matches, as they also fell to Danvers 3-1 last Thursday.
“I just think we have to find that inside drive right now. We have to fix what’s going on,” Marblehead coach Killeen Miller said. “The team is so well-trained, physically and mentally, so they know exactly what they need to do. But right now, they need to start capitalizing on everything they know how to do, and that drive has to come from inside them.”
Despite the loss, Miller praised the play of Mandy Dumais and Eve Rice.
“Mandy Dumais played absolutely phenomenally tonight. She is really holding us strong on defense,” Miller said. “That kid deserves so much credit. She keeps the team together when things are getting tough. Eve Rice, she’s become a stronger player for us in the middle, and just her presence when she steps on that court, it’s very aware.”
For Peabody, Hannah Kemp helped facilitate a lot of offense with 20 assists. Gray led the way with eight kills, while Serena Laro added seven kills and four blocks, and Zammer contributed eight kills.
Defensively, the Tanners looked sharp, with Joanna Bampi coming up with eight digs and Alperen playing well on the back line.
Peabody will take on Classical and English before facing off against Cape Ann League powerhouse Lynnfield. Marblehead will try to stave off its third straight loss, but will have its work cut out for it against Catholic Central League giant Bishop Fenwick tonight.