Covenant Falls In 5 Sets To DeSales

ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Covenant volleyball team powered its way to a 2-0 match lead, but the Lady Scots could not hold on as DeSales rallied to win the final three sets and take a 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-8) victory on Friday night in the Emory Classic in Atlanta. 

It was the second straight five-set match for Covenant (2-3) after the Lady Scots prevailed in Wednesday's five-setter against Oglethorpe. DeSales (6-1) won both of its matches on Friday, and the matchup was the first between the programs all-time.

Covenant was clicking early on. The Lady Scots tallied 17 kills in the first set and had 27 team kills after the first two sets. But DeSales was able to limit the Covenant attack over the final three frames with the Lady Scots totaling just 14 kills combined. As a team, Covenant hit .062, while DeSales went for 60 kills and a .113 percentage.

Schuyler Moore narrowly missed a triple-double with 27 assists, 19 digs and nine kills. Ginny Moore also had nine kills to go along with a team-high 32 digs. Allie Jakes recorded nine kills and seven total blocks (six assisted) in the loss, while Olivia Becker and Lindsey Stephens each had five kills. Hannah Stewart accumulated 22 digs and Emily Moore added 13.

In the first set, Covenant controlled the action as it led for the majority of the frame. The Lady Scots led by as many as five points twice in the set before scoring the final two points, coming on a Jakes solo block followed by a kill, to earn the set win at 25-20. The second saw five ties and four lead changes, but Covenant was again able to pull away late in the set. Covenant took the lead for good at 13-12 on a Chloe Storm kill and then scored five of the last six points, capped by a Schuyler Moore kill, to win 25-20.

DeSales responded in the third and fourth sets to tie the match back up. The Bulldogs totaled 13 kills in the third and 16 in the fourth to mount the comeback. In the decisive fifth set, DeSales took a 10-5 lead and was able to hold off the Lady Scots to secure the victory.

Morgan Shoemaker had 18 kills, Gabby Savite' totaled 16 kills and Noel Kelly 15 to lead DeSales. Savite' also tallied 42 digs, while Natalie Gray had a match-best 45 digs. Julie Bradford had 51 assists in the win.

UP NEXT

Covenant will play a pair of matches on Saturday at the Emory Classic. At 10 a.m., the Lady Scots face Howard Payne before playing Chapman at 3 p.m. --