DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University volleyball knocked off Maryville College 3-0 in Friday's USA South Conference Tournament semifinals, putting the Cougars in Saturday's championship match. Averett, the No. 1 seed in the East Division, will battle West No. 1 seed Covenant College for a trip to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Grant Center.

Averett (32-3) took down Maryville (17-13) in three sets, winning 25-18, 25-19 and 25-23. In the process, the Cougars set a new program record for overall wins in a single season.

In the opening set, the conference foes were embattled in a tight matchup. Tied at 14-14, Averett finally built a cushion with four consecutive points. Although Maryville won the next two to close the gap to 18-16, the Cougars extended their lead to 21-16. Up 24-18, senior Lynsey Corriher put the Scots away with a kill to give Averett a 1-0 lead.

Much like the first frame, Averett pulled away midway through the second set. Ahead 13-12, the Cougars rattled off a 7-1 run to extend their lead to 20-13 and take control. Although Maryville closed the margin to 23-19, Averett finished off the set with kills from senior Hannah Shields and Corriher to put the Scots on the ropes.

However, Maryville didn't go quietly. The Scots jumped on Averett for a 7-3 advantage early in Set 3. The Cougars hung around, though, and fought back to tie it at 11-11. Maryville inched back ahead, 15-12, before Averett found its rhythm and went on a 10-1 spurt to go ahead 22-16. Yet, it wasn't over. The scrappy Scots pulled to within 22-21 to try to force a fourth set. Averett won the next two points on kills from freshman Brooke Aaron and Shields to get to match point. After Maryville won two consecutive points to make it 24-23, Shields and sophomore Madison Dadez got a game-ended block at the net for the final point to send Averett into its second consecutive USA South championship match.

Sophomore Brianna Williams had a stellar game to lead Averett. The USA South All-Conference First Team selection had 10 kills while hitting .444 with had five total blocks. Shields, the three-time USA South Player of the Year, had nine kills and nine digs and senior Sarah Smoot added seven kills. Junior Emily Stanley netted a team-high 12 digs, while senior Christiana Summa and freshman McKenzie Miller each had seven digs. Junior Keenan Marks led the setters with 17 assists, while Miller had 12 assists.

Saturday's game will mark the 14th time Averett head coach Danny Miller has guided his squad to the conference tournament championship in his 23 seasons. The Cougars have won seven tournament championships during that span.

Although in separate divisions, Averett and Covenant (23-7) met in a non-conference matchup earlier this season at Maryville's tournament on Sept. 15. The Cougars won 3-1.