LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Chelsea Van Dyk led three Covenant players in double digits in kills with 16, but that was not enough for the Lady Scots to overcome the Piedmont Lady Lions on Tuesday night as Piedmont took a 3-1 victory (19-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-22). The match marked the third meeting between the two teams this year, with both earning a victory.
Jessica Chittenden added 15 kills, while Pretoria den Boer had 10 to go along with six digs.
Covenant (16-5) came out strong as they pulled away from Piedmont in the first set. With the opening set tied at 12, the Lady Scots would go on and score nine of the next 11 points with kills from Van Dyk, den Boer, and Chittenden. Covenant would end the set on a Hannah Rogers kill setup by Stephanie Kirkpatrick.
The second set was back and forth as neither team led by more than four points. Down 24-22, Covenant rallied with two straight points to tie it at 24. Chittenden then downed another kill to tie the set at 25, but the Lady Lions would secure the set win with a kill from Katie Byrd and an error by Covenant.
Piedmont cruised to a 10-1 lead to start the third set and though the Lady Scots would try to rally, it was too little too late as Piedmont took control of the match going up 2-1. The fourth set saw Piedmont again take an early lead, 11-7. Covenant would tie the score at 16 after a Piedmont error, but the Lady Lions used timely kills to take the set and the match.
Kirkpatrick tallied 41 assists, 16 digs, and five kills for Covenant. Estes Carlson and Cora Schroeder led the way with 21 digs apiece with Paige Cheney and Rogers recording 14 each.
Piedmont (16-6) was led offensively by Kaitlin Norman's 13 kills. Norman also had eight digs, three block solos, and three block assists. Jennifer Opper chipped in 10 kills and four block assists. Katheryn Knarr and Xandy Green added 18 and 16 assists, respectively.
Covenant returns to the court on Saturday, October 13 when they travel to Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville, Tenn. Match time is 2 p.m. ET. Covenant was defeated by Trevecca 3-0 in their previous meeting this season.
