LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- No. 4 seeded LaGrange had three players record double-digit kills and the visiting Panthers defeated the No. 1 seeded Covenant volleyball team 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-20) in a USA South Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday night at Barnes PE Center.
The loss ends the season for the Lady Scots at 19-13 overall. LaGrange, which defeated No. 5 seeded Huntingdon in straight sets earlier on Tuesday, goes to 22-13 on the year and will play Meredith in the semifinal round of the tournament on Friday in Danville, Va.
Ginny Moore registered a match-high 23 kills to go with 16 digs, while Hannah Harris had 12 kills and four block assists for Covenant. Schuyler Moore nearly had a triple-double with 47 assists, 20 digs and seven kills. Morgan Opgenorth added eight kills, while Allie Jakes had a match-best seven total blocks with three kills. Jessica Seehorn also had eight kills and eight digs.
Defensively, Hannah Stewart had match-high 23 digs and Emily Moore contributed 10 for the Lady Scots.
Covenant led throughout the first set as the Lady Scots took a 3-1 lead after consecutive combined blocks. LaGrange cut the lead to 6-5, but scored five straight, capped by a kill from Opgenorth, to go ahead 11-5. Covenant continued to hold its lead and ended the frame with back-to-back kills from Ginny Moore and Harris to grab a 1-0 match lead.
The second and third sets were tightly contested with 23 ties and 15 lead changes combined. In the second, LaGrange was able to pull ahead by a few points late in the set and held off a Covenant rally to take a 25-21 win.
In the third, Covenant surged ahead 18-15 after a Ginny Moore kill, but LaGrange answered with three straight points to tie it at 18 apiece. The teams traded points until LaGrange broke a 25-25 tie with consecutive points for a 27-25 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
The Panthers jumped on Covenant in the fourth scoring the first 10 of 12 points to take a 10-2 lead. Covenant methodically chipped away at the deficit, trimming it to 15-11 after an Opgenorth kill. But LaGrange was able to keep the Lady Scots at a distance the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Samantha James had 14 kills, while Maggie Ivester had 13 and Emily Arnold 10 for LaGrange. Lauren Sanders tallied 30 assists and 11 digs, while Libby Compton had 12 assists and nine digs. Sterling Ancrum led the Panthers with 20 digs.
For the match, Covenant had a 62-47 advantage in kills, but LaGrange hit at a .190 clip compared to Covenant's .150. The Lady Scots also out-blocked LaGrange 7-6 and held an 88-84 edge in digs.
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