Another year. Another USA South regular season championship for the Covenant volleyball team.
The Lady Scots took down Huntingdon 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-22) and then Agnes Scott 3-1 (25-13, 25-19, 24-26, 25-13) to clinch the USA South's West Division, marking a third straight year that Covenant has won a conference regular season championship.
In the process, Covenant (18-7, 11-0 USA South) also seized the No. 1 seed in the West Division for the USA South Tournament, which begins on Oct.
31. The Lady Scots have won 10 straight matches, breaking a program record.
MATCH ONE: Covenant 3, Huntingdon 0
In the USA South West-clinching victory, Covenant held off Huntingdon in the first and third sets to earn a 25-23, 25-13, 25-22 victory.
Ginny Moore totaled 10 kills with nine digs, while Schuyler Moore had 25 assists, four aces and eight digs. Chloe Storm added seven kills and Allie Jakes had six in the victory. Emily Moore led the defense with 17 digs with Jessica Seehorn adding nine.
Covenant was able to hold off Huntingdon late in the first set to take a 1-0 match lead. The Lady Scots went on a 7-1 run to take a 23-18 lead after a Schuyler Moore ace, but Huntingdon rallied and got within 24-23. A Hawks error gave the set to Covenant. In the second set, Covenant used an 8-1 run early in the game to grab a 13-5 lead after a combined block from Hannah Harris and Storm. The lead would grow to 11 points before Covenant finished the set win with an Emily Moore ace.
The Lady Scots got behind 8-3 in the third set, but worked back into it with a 10-1 scoring run, capped by a Harris kill, to take a 13-9 lead. Covenant would not trail the rest of the way, but still had to hold off a late rally from the Hawks to collect the sweep.
Huntingdon (17-14, 5-4 USA South) received 13 kills and 13 digs from Amy Tyma. Kaitlyn Carter added 20 assists and 11 digs.
MATCH TWO: Covenant 3, Agnes Scott 1
Covenant cruised to first and second set victories before responding with a strong fourth set to defeat host Agnes Scott 25-13, 25-19, 24-26, 25-13 to complete the 2-0 day.
Ginny Moore had a match-best 16 kills to go along with 13 digs and Harris added 13 kills, while hitting at a .600 clip, to lead the Lady Scots. Schuyler Moore had 30 assists, with Sophie Puertas recording 10. Emily Moore tallied 25 digs and Jakes had six total blocks (three solo, three assisted). Seehorn accumulated eight kills, five digs and two block assists.
As a team, Covenant hit .213 with 52 kills and limited Agnes Scott to 35 kills and a .027 percentage.
The first two sets went well for Covenant. The Lady Scots hit .320 in the first game and capitalized on eight Agnes Scott attack errors to take a 25-13 victory. In the second set, Covenant had 15 kills as a team and pulled away late for the 25-19 victory.
Agnes Scott (7-18, 1-9 USA South) would keep the match alive with a 26-24 set three win. Covenant answered back with a strong fourth set that ended with the Lady Scots scoring nine of the last 11 points. A Harris kill ended the set and completed the victory.
The host Scotties were led by Paige Heck's 12 kills and Anna Tomkins' 28 assists and 21 digs in the losing effort.
Covenant will travel to Berea on Tuesday for the final USA South regular season match of the year. First serve is set for 6 p.m.