In the first two games, the difference was slight. But riding the momentum earned in the last half of game two, the Covenant volleyball team broke loose in game three to cruise to a 3-0 road win over archrival St. Anne’s-Belfield, 25-22, 25-19, 25-9.
“I was so excited for them — this team has this amazing chemistry that when they get the momentum they just keep it going and playing really well together,” said first –year Eagles coach Mariko Schaper. “It’s really all that I ask of them and when they do get it going it’s so awesome to watch.”
The Eagles and Saints battled back and forth in the first two games, both of which were decided by six points or less. Covenant built up an early six-point lead in game one, but Trent Holden and STAB put together an 11-5 run to tie the game at 18, forcing the Eagles to call a timeout. Covenant came out of the break and won the next three points to reclaim the lead and held on for the win.
The Saints came out strong early in game two as they built up a six-point lead, however, an 8-0 run fueled by Sally Cathcart and Alex Howerton midway through put the Eagles in the driver’s seat and they would not allow St. Anne’s closer than within two points of the lead down the stretch.
“We came into the match pumped,” Cathcart said. “We wanted to make sure we didn’t do what we did on Friday (in a loss to Seton). We worked really well with the momentum, between time outs and between games. We kept telling eachother to keep it up and I think we did.”
The biggest run of the match came early in game three. Down by two to start off game three, Covenant took 14 straight points to build up the only double-digit lead of the game. Up by 12, the Eagles finished the match off by taking eight of the final twelve points.
“It is tough when you get long rallies going and the points don’t fall your way,” said STAB coach Stacey Gearhart. “That definitely affected us mental toughness wise in game three. We just didn’t know what to do recover from losing those first two hard fought games.”
Senior setter Emily Smethurst had a well-rounded game as she managed to tie Howerton and Connor Adams for a game-high six kills. Smethurst also had 19 assists to lead all passers.
“Emily’s a dream setter,” Schaper said. “She makes amazing sets and she hussles like crazy. But she also knows how to read the court well and do something special with the ball.”
Adams and Rachel Rapp each had four blocks. Cathcar led the team on defense with her 12 digs.
For STAB, Andrea Baellow had a game high 26 digs with Morgan Thacker contributing 12 of her own. Holden and Thacker each had a pair of kills. Holden also chipped in four blocks.
