Covenant College

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- Covenant volleyball could not keep pace with the strong Sewanee hitting on Tuesday, falling 3-1 in their season opener.

Avery Maiden led the offensive charge for the Scots (0-1), racking up 15 kills on an impressive .333 hitting percentage, while Aubrianna Gerdes added 11. Cali Sandhoff also posted a team-best 29 assists, while Henley Gentry (13) and Sandhoff (12) combined for 25 digs.

After falling behind 13-10 in the first set, kills from Maiden and Gabby Sumrall helped Covenant regain a 14-13 advantage, and then a Gerdes kill and Sarah Jennings ace later in the set tied things up at 19. However, the Tigers outscored the Scots 6-3 the rest of the way to take the set.

Covenant came out firing in the second set, going on an 8-1 start that included three kills from Maiden. Sewanee bounced back later in the set though, erasing that deficit to go up 20-16. It was then the Scots' turn, as they forced their way back to a one-point lead, 24-23, thanks to kills from Gerdes and Scarlett Martz.

Both teams battled the remainder of that set, going up to a 28-28 deadlock, but the Tigers were able to punch down a pair of kills to go up two sets to none.

Following an early 7-4 deficit in the third set, Covenant strung together an 8-2 stretch, capped by another Jennings ace. Another 7-1 run later in the set put Covenant up 20-13, and the Scots held on from there, getting a final kill from Sandhoff to get themselves back in it.

To open the fourth set, Covenant came out swinging again, going up 8-2 from the jump. A pair of Sewanee runs, though, made it 19-16 Tigers, but two Gerdes kills and an ace from freshman Chloe Finn knotted matters at 19. 

However, a service error and subsequent formation error gave the Tigers the advantage they would not surrender, ending the match, 25-23.

Savannah Gann put up 16 kills to pace Sewanee, while Jordan Krise had 27 assists and Sophia Caruso had 21 digs.

UP NEXT

The Scots will face Methodist on Friday at 6 p.m. to begin the weekend Coca-Cola Classic at Barnes PE Center.

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.