LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant volleyball team rallied in Wednesday night's first match to send it to five sets but ultimately fell to Maryville, 3-2 (25-16, 13-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-8), before suffering a second loss in the night's finale in three sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-20).
The losses snapped a four-match win streak for Covenant (4-2, 2-1 USA South). Only the first match counted towards USA South West Division standings. Maryville (6-1, 4-0 USA South) remains unbeaten in conference play.
MATCH ONE: Maryville 3, Covenant 2
Covenant and Maryville traded set wins through the first four stanzas and Maryville used a 9-2 run in the fifth set to pull away for the five-set victory.
Rachel Bartlett tallied 36 assists, 18 digs, and six kills in the loss for Covenant, while Emma Kalbfleisch had 11 kills with a .333 hitting percentage. Summer Johnson added eight kills and 14 digs with Alex Spurling contributing seven kills and hitting at a .312 clip. Anna Baldwin registered 15 digs.
Maryville never trailed in the opening set as the visitors cruised to a 25-16 win. Covenant had the answer in the second as the Scots tallied 10 kills and used a 9-1 run, capped by a Kalbfleisch kill, to grab the lead for good at 12-4.
Maryville went back on the attack in the third to gain a 2-1 match lead with a 25-17 victory after hitting .220 as a team with 14 kills. Covenant opened up a 21-12 lead in the fourth set and held off a Maryville rally as Kyla Bailey's kill ended the set and put the match into a deciding frame.
The host Scots started strong in the fifth as they took a 4-1 lead after a combined block from Bartlett and Kalbfleisch. Maryville, however, went on a 9-2 spurt to grab a 1-6 lead and Covenant would get no closer.
Covenant had 48 kills in the match, while Maryville tallied 51. Kalbfleisch led the way with four total blocks as Covenant tallied six as a team.
Maryville was led by Maggie Mathews' 23 kills and 21 digs. Meredith Bonee had 43 assists with nine digs and four total blocks. The visitors hit .137 as a group and had 10 blocks.
MATCH TWO: Maryville 3, Covenant 0
Maryville completed the sweep with a three-set victory (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) in Wednesday's second match.
Johnson led the way with 11 kills and five total blocks for Covenant, while Bartlett had 22 assists, five digs, and four total blocks. Leah Buys had a match-high 10 digs in the loss.
The first set saw five ties and three lead changes, but it was Maryville that grabbed a six-point edge (16-10). Covenant cut the deficit to 20-17, but Maryville scored five of the final seven points to go ahead 1-0.
Maryville surged ahead 7-2 in the second set and never look back, despite Covenant getting within one (20-19) on a Reagan Keener kill, as the visitors took a 2-0 match lead. In the third, Maryville had 13 kills as a team and again held off a late Covenant rally to win the match.
Kalbfleisch and Keener added four kills apiece for Covenant.
Rhianna Tyldesly and Amii Ingalls had nine kills each for Maryville, while Bonee added 33 assists and six digs.
UP NEXT
Covenant hosts Huntingdon on Saturday for two matches starting at 12 p.m. The first match will count for USA South standings.
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