PEABODY — As with every other team in the area, the Peabody volleyball team was chomping at the bit to get back out on the practice court early last week. And now, with the start of the season mere hours away, that excitement is palpable.
“It’s a really odd feeling to be getting started at this time of year, but the kids are incredibly excited,” said Peabody coach Lisa Keene, who is about to embark on her 17th season at the helm. “We lost a couple of athletes to other sports and things like that, but the team is really coming together and we just can’t wait to get back into game action.”
It wasn’t a totally uneventful offseason for Keene, who was inducted into the Peabody High Athletic Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020. She has been the head coach of the Tanners since 2004, leading Peabody to eight Northeastern Conference titles and qualifying for the state tournament every year. Keene, who has a career record of 243 wins and 81 losses, was awarded the Women in Sport Award by the MIAA in 2018.
But that’s in the past now, and Keene is looking ahead to this season. After going 10-10 and falling in the first round of the Division 1 North tournament back in 2019, Peabody is looking to continue building momentum with its mix of veteran and young players.
But still, the Tanners aren’t without losses. Key contributors Olivia Kiricoples and Amanda Marmiani, who were both captains and all-stars last year, are gone to graduation. Senior Aaliyah Alleyne, who was an NEC All-Conference pick last season with 182 kills, decided not to play volleyball this season to instead run indoor track — which is the sport she plans to pursue in college.
Despite those losses, there is plenty to be excited about with this year’s Tanners team. Senior captains Maggie Bena, Samantha Silva and Sophia Hollingshed are set to lead the way, while returning NEC all-star Isabel Bettencourt is coming fresh off of a successful season on the basketball court. Freshman Abby Bettencourt, Isabel’s sister, is also coming off of a strong basketball campaign and will be primed to have a strong year on the volleyball court as well.
“At this point in the process, we’re still figuring out positions and experimenting with different things on the court,” said Keene. “We have no real height this year, so we have to work extra hard in a lot of other places.”
Despite the lack of team height, the Tanners will find comfort in the fact that they won’t have to deal with the same rule adjustments that teams had in the fall — namely that they won’t have to deal with a rule that required them to stay three feet away from the net on each side to remain socially distanced.
“It’s great that we’re going to be able to attack the net like we would normally be able to,” Keene said. “We were worried about that early on because of what teams dealt with in the fall and how they basically had to re-learn how to play. It’s nice that the girls will be able to play how they’ve always played.”
Peabody opens up its season Thursday evening (5:45) on the road against non-conference foe Chelmsford.
“We’re all incredibly excited and we know it’s going to be a great game no matter what,” said Keene. “Chelmsford is an explosive team and they’re going to be a lot to handle, so we’re going to focus on getting a lot of girls playing time, playing girls in multiple positions and just continuing to build on the court.”