LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- In her final home match as a Covenant Scot, Riley Howe delivered the knockout as her kill in the fourth set sealed a 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22) victory for No. 2 West seed Covenant over No. 3 West seed Berea in the quarterfinal round of the USA South Tournament on Tuesday night.

It was the cherry on top for Howe as she registered a double-double of 11 kills and 19 digs with three blocks to help Covenant advance to the semifinals. 

Covenant (21-8) will travel to Buena Vista, Va., and face No. 1 East seed Southern Virginia on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Southern Virginia dispatched No. 4 East seed Averett in three sets earlier on Tuesday night.

Howe was joined in double-figure kills by Emma Kalbfleisch, who tallied a team-high 14 kills to go with seven total blocks (three solo, four assisted). Rachel Bartlett had 36 assists and seven digs and Anna Baldwin totaled a match-high 26 digs in the win.

Covenant took a commanding 2-0 lead in the contest behind a strong attack. The Scots tallied 14 kills in the opening set and fought through in the seesaw frame that saw 10 ties and five lead changes. The Scots had the final answer in the first scoring the last three points, including back-to-back aces from Reagan Keener, to take a 1-0 lead.

In the second, the Scots fell behind 5-0 before using an 8-1 scoring run to take a 12-9 lead. Keener had two kills during the stretch and Grace Logterman recorded three blocks to give Covenant the lead again. The Scots never trailed the rest of the set and a Howe kill gave Covenant a 2-0 match lead.

Berea (20-12) staved off elimination with a third set victory.

Covenant built a 14-8 lead in the fourth set after a rare Baldwin kill on a zero attack, but Berea climbed back to within two (22-20) late in the frame. After a Covenant timeout, Keener picked up her eighth kill of the night to make it 23-20. Berea earned the next two points before a Keener and Kalbfleisch combined block followed by Howe's match-ending kill.

Kyla Bailey added nine kills for the Scots, while Keener had eight and three blocks. Logterman had four total blocks with five kills. On the back row, Summer Johnson registered 17 digs and Savannah Savage had 14.

It was the third time Covenant defeated Berea this season, with all three contests being decided in four sets.

Berea was led by Julie Santana's 15 kills, Jonsey McGregor's 20 assists, and Deanna De La Torre's 24 digs.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT

 

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The kill that sent @CovenantVball to the semifinals!

Riley Howe's 11th kill of the night gives Scots a 3-1 win over Berea in USA South quarterfinals.#WeAreTheScots pic.twitter.com/iXJTCyuN9G

— Covenant Scots (@CovenantScots) November 3, 2021

 

UP NEXT

Covenant faces No. 1 East seed Southern Virginia in the USA South Tournament semifinals on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Buena Vista, Va.

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