MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead volleyball team rode a strong service game all the way to victory Thursday evening, taking down Swampscott in a Northeastern Conference bout on its home court. The Magicians won by set scores of 25-6, 25-4, 25-14.
“We’ve really been working on our offensive game lately, and even though it was a little tough to get momentum at times we were able to put some things together,” said Marblehead coach Killeen Miller. “We finished practice (Wednesday) on such a strong note, and I think we were able to bring that right into (Thursday).”
Lilah Thompson had seven kills and five aces in the win, while Keira Sweetnam had two kills and four aces.
The match was Swampscott’s first game action since March 16 after the school shut down all athletic activities due to a COVID-19 outbreak in town.
“We were certainly rusty out there to start, as evidenced by the score of those first two sets,” said Swampscott coach Ryan Celli. “But the girls had a positive attitude the whole way and were happy to be out there, and they kept battling until the end.”
For the Big Blue, Cece Gordon, Nickole Fein, Anastasia Hayes and Isabel Comfort played well in the loss.
As Celli mentioned postgame, the Big Blue got off to a slow start that could mainly be attributed to rust. Marblehead jumped all over Swampscott in the early going, racing ahead 10-0 before the Big Blue could register a point. The Magicians extended their lead to 16-2 before Swampscott called another timeout, but Marblehead controlled the momentum and coasted to a 25-6 set victory.
The second set was much of the same, as the Magicians jumped ahead 7-0 before Swampscott notched a point. Unfortunately for the Big Blue, they only notched three more points the rest of the way. Marblehead took a 20-2 lead before cruising to another set victory, 25-4.
But in the third set, Swampscott scored the first point and started playing with some momentum. After battling back and forth for a few points, Marblehead eventually took control and went ahead 8-4 to force a Swampscott timeout. The Magicians continued their strong play from there, going up 15-6 before a small Big Blue run at the end of the set. Still, Marblehead kept its lead and cruised to a 25-14 set win to take the match.
Swampscott (1-4) has a quick turnaround with a game against Saugus Friday evening (5:30).
“It was nice that we finished the match with a little bit of momentum and started playing a little better, so now we’re looking to bring that into (Friday’s) match,” said Celli. “We’re hoping to end the season on a high note over the next couple weeks.”
Marblehead (4-5) has a full week off before taking on Saugus next Thursday (6).
“What’s really strange about this year is that I think our record doesn’t really indicate how well we’ve been playing for whatever reason,” said Miller. “I think we got off to a slow start, but now we’re really starting to find our groove.”