LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant volleyball team used a dominating effort in the first set and then held off Ferrum over the final two sets to claim a 3-0 (25-11, 27-25, 25-22) victory in the quarterfinal round of the USA South Tournament on Friday night inside Barnes PE Center.

Covenant (17-12) advances to the semifinal round where it will face Meredith at 2 p.m. on Saturday. It's the third straight year Covenant has advanced to the final four of the USA South Tournament.

The Lady Scots featured a balanced attack on Friday as Chelsea VanDyk led the way with 11 kills and a .280 hitting percentage. Ginny Moore tallied her 20th double-double of the year with 10 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Hannah Rogers chipped in five kills, while Schuyler Moore, Jessica Seehorn and Morgan Opgenorth each had four. 

Schuyler Moore registered 32 assists and seven digs, while Hannah Stewart had 15 digs. Seehorn added 11 digs.

Covenant recorded 12 kills as a team in the opening set. The Lady Scots broke open a tight contest with a 9-0 scoring run to go ahead 16-7. Seehorn and Rogers had two kills apiece during the stretch. Covenant cruised to the set win from there as Ferrum struggled with its attack hitting at -.135.

Covenant fell behind 20-16 in the second set before rallying to take a 2-0 match lead. Trailing by that four-point margin, Ginny Moore and VanDyk recorded kills that aided a 5-0 run to give the Lady Scots a 21-20 lead. The team would trade points until Covenant broke a 25-25 tie with a kill followed by a service ace from Ginny Moore for the set win.

Covenant built a comfortable lead in the third set and then held off Ferrum late in the game to grab the victory. Ginny Moore's 10th kill ended the match.

Ferrum (16-15) was led by Jordan Joyce's eight kills, whjile Cheyenne Strickland had 12 assists. Sarah Hendrix was the Panthers' defensive leader with a match-high 19 digs.

UP NEXT

Covenant will face the No. 2 seed from the North division in Meredith on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a semifinal match. The winner will advance to the championship set for 6 p.m. Saturday inside Barnes PE Center. Live stats and video can be found here

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