ATLANTA, Ga. -- Trailing two sets to none, the Covenant volleyball team mounted an enormous rally to win the final three sets and take a 3-2 (24-26, 15-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-6) victory over Emory & Henry in the first match of Saturday's action at the Emory Invitational.
In the second match of the day, the Lady Scots were defeated by No. 4-ranked Emory 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-11).
After the day, Covenant's record stands at 7-5.
In the Emory & Henry match, the Lady Scots were led by two career-high performances from Cora Schroeder and Hannah Rogers. Schroeder recorded a single-match career high if 19 kills while Rogers had 15. Schroeder also had 13 digs. Stephanie Kirkpatrick tallied 44 assists and 23 digs, which also sets a career-high, to aid in Covenant's attack.
Emory & Henry used 21 kills in the opening set and 17 more in the second to gain a 2-0 match lead. The Wasps used a late 7-2 scoring spurt to claim a 26-24 game one win. In the second set, the Wasps built an early lead before Covenant rallied to knot the score at 13 apiece. Again Emory & Henry had the final push as they scored 12 of the final 14 points for a 25-15 win.
The momentum began to shift towards the end of the third set. The teams went back-and-forth but it was Covenant that rallied from a 22-17 deficit with a 9-2 run. Rogers had three kills and Schroeder had two kills during the stretch that gave the Lady Scots a 26-24 win.
Covenant controlled the fourth set as they scored 10 straight points to breakaway from a 5-5 tie. The Lady Scots had 15 kills in the game and hit at a .351 clip to force a deciding game.
The final set saw Covenant race out to a 10-2 lead before the Wasps trimmed that to 11-5. After a Covenant timeout, the Lady Scots regrouped and scored four of the final five points of the match. Rogers ended the match with her 15th kill.
Freshman Caroline Cone had a season-high nine kills. Fellow freshman Mariah Corney led the defense with 25 digs while Estes Carlson added 17. Jaclyn Stuart also had 13 digs. Covenant out-dug the Wasps 104-97.
In the Emory match, Schroeder and Rogers each had five kills but it was not enough as the nationally-ranked Eagles got 11 kills and 18 assists from Sarah Maher.
Kirkpatrick tallied 12 assists and four digs while Estes Carlson had seven digs.
Emory (13-1) also got 10 kills from Jessica Holler and 23 assists from Olivia Volarich.
Covenant will host Piedmont on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. Covenant will celebrate its entrance into NCAA Division III with a tailgate cookout at 5:00 in the Great Hall and prizes will be given out during the match.
