Saturday, November 5th- Today, the Covenant volleyball team entered into the Collegiate Conference of the South's first ever conference post-season tournament alongside the Huntingdon Hawks. 
 
The Scots and the Hawks faced off twice this year during regular season play before meeting again in the Conference Championship. Huntingdon was responsible for Covenant's first conference loss of the season, taking the Scots down in four sets. However, the next time the two teams competed, the roles were reversed and Covenant defeated Huntingdon 3-1. 
 
Both Covenant and Huntingdon proved in semifinals that they were the top two teams in the conference. However, it was the Scots that prevailed once again when it came down to who would take the conference title.
 
The Scots took the Hawks in three straight sets, an impressive victory for Covenant. It was not an easy one, two, three, however. The Hawks put up quite the fight. Each point was a battle. 
 
The first set was intensely close, with several ties and lead changes throughout. Covenant took set one 29-27, a huge momentum builder for the Scots. Though the Hawks continued to put pressure on the Scots offensively, Covenant never cracked under the weight of it all.
 
Huntingdon out-performed the Scots in kills, assists, and digs. The match leader offensively was Huntingdon's Morgan Ilsley, recording 12 kills. Samantha Singleton notched 18 digs for the Hawks, also a match-high.
 
However, the Scots were relentless at the net defensively. Grace Logterman tallied seven blocks, Hannah Haerer talled six blocks, and Emma Kalbfleish added five. There was a total of 14 team blocks (25 total blocking assists) on Covenant's end, compared to Huntingdon's team total of four. 
 
Though the Scots may have had a lower amount of kills statistically, it was the resilience during long rallies and the smart plays that won the Scots the title. Covenant made significantly less errors than the Hawks–– the Scots with 14 hitting errors contrasted to Huntingdon's 30. In the end, the Scots found a way to play off of their momentum built and capitalize on it.
 
Kyla Bailey led Covenant's offense with 11 kills, while Hannah Haerer was second in kills, chipping in eight. Haerer made zero errors and hit .400 for the Scots. Rachel Bartlett also attacked strategically, the second Scot to not allow any offensive errors. Bartlett hit .455 on the day and registered, yet again, another double-double. The Junior Setter recorded 31 assists and 14 digs. Kelsey Carman led Covenant's defense with a team-high of 16 digs. Anna Baldwin also added in 15 of her own, a key performer for the Scots when it came down to the wire and keeping those long rallies alive. 
 
After the Scots took the final two sets 25-21 and 25-20, Covenant Volleyball was named the first ever Collegiate Conference of the South Tournament Champions. It was a sweet moment for the Scots, as for the last few years, Covenant Volleyball fell in finals in Spring 2021 and semifinals in Fall 2021.
 
Three Covenant players were then named to the All-Championship Team, a recognition specifically directed towards performances in CCS post-season play. Kyla Bailey, Emma Kalbfleisch, and Rachel Bartlett were honored in the ceremony directly following the match. Rachel Bartlett was then honored as the Most-Outstanding Athlete of the entire CCS Tournament. 
 
Covenant Volleyball reigns in the day by bringing home the Championship hosted in Barnes in front of their very own Covenant community, fans, and family. Up next for the Scots is yet to be determined as it relates to continuation of post-season. More information to come Monday, November 7th.
 
CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS
Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.