WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Averett University volleyball rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat defending conference champion Covenant College 3-2 and remain unbeaten in USA South Conference play Saturday afternoon. The Cougars also knocked off host Salem College 3-0 early in the day.
Against Covenant (5-8, 2-1 USA South), Averett (12-6, 4-0 USA South) found itself in a hole early. The Scots jumped ahead early in the first set and held off the Cougars 25-22. A strong finish in Set 2 helped Covenant win 25-17 and put Averett on the brink of its first conference loss this season.
In the third set, Averett distanced itself by taking eight points in a nine-point stretch to go ahead 17-8. The Cougars eventually won that frame 25-15 to gain some needed momentum heading into the fourth game. Averett soared to a 9-2 lead following a block by senior
Brittany Daley and junior
Hayden Rigsbee. Although Covenant pulled within 16-14, Averett was dominant down the stretch and won 25-18 to set up the deciding fifth game.
Despite an earlier 6-2 lead by Averett, Covenant bounced back to go in front 7-6. From there, the two teams nearly matched each other point for point. The Scots, ahead 15-14, had match point in their favor, but junior
Hannah Shields got the kill to keep Averett's chances going. With the Cougars in front 17-16, sophomore setter
Keenan Marks found Shields for her career-best 35th kill of the match to put the Scots away and complete the wild comeback victory.
Shields' 35 kills topped her previous high of 31 against William Peace University last season. She added 15 digs.
Marks and fellow sophomore
Emily Stanley also had a stellar match. Marks finished with 54 assists and 20 digs, while Stanley tallied a career-high 33 digs. Juniors
Lynsey Corriher and
Christiana Summa each had 14 digs, while freshman
Brianna Williams and Daley finished with seven blocks and six blocks, respectively. Williams also had nine kills against Covenant.
Averett opened the day with three-set win over host Salem (4-7, 0-3 USA South), topping the Spirits 25-16, 25-14, 25-22. The Cougars were paced by Shields' double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs. Junior
Sarah Smoot added 14 kills, Marks had 39 assists and Stanley finished with a team-high 13 digs against Salem. Williams led the front line with four blocks, while Daley had three.
Averett returns to action on Saturday when the Cougars host a USA South quad match. Averett faces Huntingdon College at 10 a.m. and LaGrange College at 4 p.m. in the Grant Center.
