The Covenant volleyball team's eight-match win streak came to an end on Thursday night as the host Scots could not hold a two-set match lead and eventually fell to Maryville 3-2 (28-30, 22-25, 26-24, 26-24, 15-8) inside Barnes PE Center.
The loss was the first for Covenant (13-7, 7-2 USA South) since losing in five sets at Maryville on Sept. 22, and the Scots' first defeat at home this season. Maryville (13-8, 9-0 USA South) remains undefeated in league play and sits alone atop the USA South West Division.
The first two sets were all Covenant.
In a seesaw battle all night, Covenant took the first two sets (30-28, 25-22) to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
The first set had 14 ties and seven lead changes as the squads matched each other throughout the frame. Covenant staved off two set-point chances for Maryville in the first set and scored the final three points with a kill from Grace Logterman and back-to-back Maryville errors.
Covenant trailed 10-5 in the second, but rallied with five straight capped by a Summer Johnson ace. Down 21-20 later in the set, Covenant rattled off a 5-1 scoring spurt to end the frame and take a 2-0 match lead. Riley Howe had a kill during the stretch, while Logterman and Meriel Chupp combined for a block to key the rally.
Covenant was poised to finish off the visitors in the third set. In another tight set (16 ties, nine lead changes), the host Scots went ahead 24-23 after a kill from Kelsey Carman. However, Maryville flipped the momentum with an ace and a kill from Isabella Samson to swipe the set from Covenant and stay alive with a 26-24 win.
In the fourth, Covenant went ahead 7-4 on an Emma Kalbfleisch kill and extended that margin to 14-8 after a Kyla Bailey kill. Covenant still held a 21-17 lead late in the frame, but Maryville had the answer once again. The visitors scored five straight to take a 24-22 lead and then held off a Covenant rally to earn another 26-24 set win.
Maryville completed the reverse sweep in the fifth. Maryville never trailed in the set and pulled away for a 15-8 win and a match victory.
Kalbfleisch had 15 kills, and hit .387, with seven total blocks to lead Covenant, while Bailey had 12 kills and six digs. Logterman added nine kills and seven blocks, with Carman chipping in six kills and eight digs. Johnson totaled 18 assists and 12 digs, while Rachel Bartlett just missed a double-double with 21 assists, eight digs, and three kills.
Anna Baldwin led the back row with 20 digs and Savannah Savage had 16. Covenant out-blocked Maryville, 14-6, on the night.
Maryville received a match-high 21 kills from Brooklyn Wallet, while Amii Ingalls had 15 kills and 18 digs. Landry Frisch contributed 10 kills and 13 digs.
Covenant travels to LaGrange for a USA South tri-match on Saturday. The Scots face LaGrange at 12 p.m., and Piedmont at 2 p.m.