MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - For the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament the Scots battled No. 15 Mount St. Joseph. After dropping the first set, Covenant won the next three to keep its historic season alive. 

Final: No. 24 Covenant 3, No. 15 Mount St. Joseph 1
Records: No. 24 Covenant (35-2, 16-0 CCS), No. 15 Mount St. Joseph  (24-3, 9-0 HCAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• The Scots took the lead 6-5 in the first set after a few attack errors by the Lions. 
• The two teams went back-and-forth as a service ace from Cali Sandhoff tied the set at 11. 
• MSJ rode a 7-0 run to open up a 21-12 lead.
• Three consecutive service aces by Sarah Jennings cut the lead back to five, but it was too little too late as MSJ took set one 25-17.
• With Covenant down two points in set two, back-to-back kills by Emma Kalbfleisch and Kelsey Carman tied it at nine. 
• Covenant went on a 6-1 run to gain a little bit of cushion at 15-11. 
• Kalbfleisch had another kill for Covenant to push its lead to 22-17.
• The Scots closed out the set 25-19 with three consecutive points. 
• Behind two kills from Hannah Haerer, Covenant went ahead 4-1 in set three. 
• Covenant led 16-8 after a 5-0 run highlighted by kills from Haerer and Kalbfleisch. 
• The Lions cut the lead to six, but a couple of errors from them and a service ace by Kyla Bailey ended set four 25-17.
• After dropping two consecutive sets, MSJ came out in the fourth set and scored the first four points. 
• Covenant retook the lead at 6-5 after two service aces from Carman. 
• With a 6-0 run MSJ took back some momentum to lead 14-9. 
• Two attack errors from the Lions and a kill from Haerer tied the set back at 16. 
• A 6-0 run for the Scots, behind a pair of service aces from Jennings proved to be the deciding factor as they led 23-19. 
• A kill from Carman followed by a bad set from MSJ ended the set at 25-20 and the match. 

GAME NOTES:

• Covenant moves to 2-0 all-time against Mount St. Joseph. 
• Kalbfleisch totaled 13 kills and eight digs. 
• Haerer tallied 11 kills and nine total blocks.
• Bartlett posted a double-double with 31 assists and 13 digs.
• Carman had 15 digs while Jennings had 14 digs. 
• This is the second-time in program history and the first time since 2017 it has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 
• Covenant now had a 2-3 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament. 

UP NEXT: The Scots take on No. 7 Emory or Meredith in the second round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. 

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