PEABODY — The Peabody girls volleyball team has its work cut out for itself this season. The Tanners took a big hit due to graduation, losing five key seniors, including outside hitter Melissa Gray and setter Hannah Kemp.
Last year’s seniors had an amazing run during their four years with the program, posting a record of 70-11 and reaching the semifinals of the 2013 North Division 1 tournament.
“They were a great group of girls who knew just how to pull a team together to get the most out of every practice and game,” said coach Lisa Keene, now in her 14th season. “They all had their individual talents but played the game as one.”
Last year, the Tanners went 15-4 and earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament. They were bounced in the second round by Methuen.
This year, the good news for Peabody is that two starters from the 2016 team are back in senior middle blocker Serena Laro and junior libero Joanna Bampi. Laro will captain the team. She was second on the team last year in kills (101), while Bampi was the team’s defensive specialist, leading the Tanners in digs with 125.
“Right now, Serena’s the only captain but that doesn’t mean that we may not choose one or two more once the season starts,” said Keene. “I’m looking for a leader that leads by example, staying positive and motivating everyone to do their very best. The team this year has a strong group of seniors who are ready to continue on where the five seniors from last year left off.”
While the Tanners lost their top three servers, Keene’s confident the service game will be strong.
“Bampi was a starter and junior Rachel Coleman saw a good amount of varsity minutes so I’m very confident that they’ll continue to serve well,” she said. “We also have seniors Janine Goggin, Alycia Gillen, Julissa Dailey and Bianca Chouinard that will definitely be seeing the service line a great deal this year. They have shown awesome power and service selection so I really feel our service will be be one of our strengths going into season.”
Coleman was fourth on the team last year in service points with 98, while Bampi was right behind in fifth with 88.
Coleman, junior Martyna Kot and senior Kayla Connolly will be manning the right side of the court, setting and playing right outside hitters, while Chouinard and Dailey will lead the left side.
“Connolly showed some great back row hits last year and Kot and Coleman have been making great decisions at setter,” said Keene. “It’s important for them all to have great communication with the team and I am confident in all three.
“Chouinard and Dailey are well-rounded playing strong defense and offense, while Tatiana Correia (a junior) and Bampi are both defensive specialists who can easily get to the ball and create offense.”
Keene added that seniors Ann Manning and Jillian Alimonti have show real power at the net during summer league.
As far as team goals goes, Keene said that between the new teams in the conference (from the former GBL) and the loss of five seniors, it’s hard to make any predictions so early in the season.
“The talent is absolutely there for them to succeed and achieve and we’ll be working on team chemistry in the next few weeks,” she said. “What I don’t want to do is look back at the success we have had, but (instead) take small steps ahead creating attainable goals and working hard with this great group of athletes.”
The Tanners open the season at Salem September 6.