Emily Moore had a double-double of 24 assists and 13 digs, while Alexa Spurling had 12 kills to lead the Covenant volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14) victory over Berea in USA South action inside Barnes PE Center on Tuesday.
Covenant goes to 13-12 overall and 11-2 in USA South play with the win. Berea drops to 2-20 on the year and 1-11 in the conference.
The win clinches a top-2 West Division seed for Covenant in next week's USA South Tournament. Covenant will host at least one tournament match at Barnes PE Center.
During the match, Covenant was presented with the 2018 USA South Sportsmanship Trophy from conference commissioner Dr.
Tom Hart. During the 2017-18 academic year, three programs (volleyball, men's basketball, and men's tennis) earned team sportsmanship awards and Covenant shared the overall Sportsmanship Award with Mary Baldwin. It was the fifth straight year Covenant has earned at least a share of the trophy.
In the match, Covenant had to fight off a pesky Berea squad in the first set. The game saw six ties and four lead changes and the Scots trailed 14-12. An 8-0 spurt, however, was the difference in the set as four aces from Riley Howe fueled the rally and gave Covenant a 20-14 edge. A kill from Hannah Harris, the 12th kill for Covenant in the frame, capped the set and gave the Scots a 1-0 match lead.
In the second, another strong run by the Scots proved to be too much for the visiting Mountaineers to overcome. Covenant scored seven straight, ending with a Howe kill, to go up 12-5. Covenant led by eight later in the set before holding off a Berea comeback to take the set 25-18 and go ahead by two sets.
Covenant had its most efficient set in the third. The Scots totaled 13 kills and a .263 hitting percentage and led for the majority of the game. Covenant took a 22-10 lead after Spurling's 12th kill of the match and a kill from Meriel Chupp capped the victory.
Harris finished with seven kills, five digs, and two blocks. Hannah Stewart had a match-high 22 digs, while Howe chipped in 15 to go along with four kills and five aces. Spurling also had four total blocks and Chupp added three blocks and four kills.
Berea received six kills and 15 digs from Hannah Headrick and five kills and 18 digs from Kristin Barnes. Jonesy McGregor added 10 assists and 10 digs in the loss.
Covenant will conclude the regular season on Saturday with a pair of matches. The Scots face Brevard at 12 p.m., before taking on Pensacola Christian at 4 p.m. Senior Day activities will take place during the day.