ROME, Ga. -- Friday night and Saturday afternoon, the Covenant volleyball team competed in their first tournament of the season. With one minor hiccup to the host Lady Vikings of Berry College, the Lady Scots dominated their competition with decisive wins over Huntingdon College (25-21, 25-19, 25-11), Oglethorpe University (25-14, 25-19, 25-22), and Mississippi College (25-22, 25-19, 25-22). Covenant's lone loss of the tournament came at the hands of Berry College in 4 games (26-28, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19).
Friday's first match went smoothly after the Lady Scots got into their rhythm. Erica Adams and Jesse Jakes arrived ready to play, earning 13 and 9 kills, respectively. Libero Estes Carlson, who would go on to garner All-Tournament team honors, had an impressive 17 digs, which contributed to Huntingdon's below average attack. The Lady Hawks finished with 22 kills compared to Covenant's 39.
Covenant's second match on Friday would be its only loss of the weekend. The Lady Scots were able to stay with Berry for the first game (28-26), but were unable to keep up with them over the course of the entire match. Adams (11 kills) and Jakes (9 kills) were, again, Covenant's attacking leaders and helped keep the team together despite their tough opponents. Berry outside hitter Claire Scott led all attackers with 16 kills, and setter Stephanie Quinn had 50 assists.
Not much went wrong for the Lady Scots on Saturday. Covenant began the day with a re-match of September 3rd's match against Oglethorpe University. One week ago, it took 4 games. Saturday, the Lady Scots cruised by in 3, with 7 different players recording at least one kill. Adams led the way with 10 kills, and Kristin Dahlstrand added 21 assists and 3 service aces.
Saturday's late match was more of the same. All the Lady Scots seemed to get in on the action as Covenant blew by Mississippi College in 3 quick games. A stout defense that came with 5 blocks helped the Lady Scots hold the Lady Choctaws to a negative hit percentage as a team. Meanwhile, the kills and service aces came in copious quantities on offense. Jakes, Adams, Dahlstrand, and Jessica Chittenden all had 6 or more kills, helping the team to 34 total for the match.
Carlson finished the tournament with 69 digs, 5 service aces, 4 assists, and even 1 kill which she recorded in the win over Oglethorpe. Adams tallied 41 kills on 102 attack attempts along with 7 blocks, both team highs for the tourney. Jakes accumulated 32 kills and a whopping 8 service aces. Dahlstrand assisted 101 of the Lady Scots 141 kills.
The Lady Scots will be back in action on Wednesday, September 14 as they take to the road for a match against Maryville College. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
