LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Covenant volleyball took down both matches of their twin billing on Saturday, upending Rose-Hulman and Transylvania by 3-1 scores at the Clive M. Beck Center.
Avery Maiden and Aubrianna Gerdes proved to be a difficult duo to contain for the two Heartland conference squads, as Maiden secured 34 kills and Gerdes 27. Henley Gentry dug out 45 attacks on the day as well, while Cali Sandhoff assisted on 49 attacks. The Scots improved to 20-2 for the season after the pair of wins.
MATCH ONE: Covenant 3, Rose-Hulman 1
Covenant's .321 hitting percentage sparked them to a 3-1 win in their first match of the day against the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers.
Avery Maiden and Aubrianna Gerdes posted 17 kills apiece, with Maiden hitting .429. Cali Sandhoff hit .545 with 25 assists, while Henley Gentry added 26 digs.
After falling in a tight first set, the Scots used an 8-2 run in the second set to take a 14-10 lead, getting three kills from Gabby Sumrall in that stretch. They would go on to close out that set, 25-19, on a kill from Gerdes.
In the third set, Covenant fell behind early again, but rose up when it mattered, eventually rattling off five straight late points to take a 23-18 lead, and then saw a service error from Rose-Hulman (5-14) give the set and the match lead to the Scots, 25-19.
It was Covenant's turn to lead early in the fourth set, as they cruised to a 17-13 lead midway through, and then used a late 3-1 run to close out the match, getting a block from Kennedy Barber and Scarlett Martz in that time to earn the 25-21 set win, which clinched the match.
Greta Carlson led all players with 21 kills in the match, while Emma Schnackenberg had 21 assists and Emma Blanton and Kennedy Otwell posted 17 digs each.
MATCH TWO: Covenant 3, Transylvania 1
The Scots upended the Transylvania Pioneers for the first time since 2016, 3-1, in their second match of the day.
Avery Maiden had another 17-kill effort to pace the team offensively, with Cali Sandhoff assisting on 24 attacks and Evy Hammer 18. Defensively, Gabby Sumrall notched five blocks, while Henley Gentry added 19 digs.
In as evenly matched a first three sets as anyone will see, Covenant overcame the loss of their 20-17 lead in the first set to take five of the next six points, getting kills from Cadie Weldon and Maiden to close that set, 25-22.
Another late run proved to be the difference in the second set, as the Scots overcame a 22-20 deficit with five straight points, headlined by two Maiden kills, to win that set 25-22 as well.
After Transylvania (9-12) authored a comeback effort of their own to win 25-22 in set three, Covenant turned up the heat, going up 10-3 early in set four, and then used a 7-1 stretch, which included three kills from Aubrianna Gerdes and an ace from Gentry, to win the set, 25-15, and the match.
Payton Avilez led the Pioneers with 12 kills, while Megan Swinney had 34 assists and Soleil Sabin had 11 digs.
UP NEXT
The Scots travel to play Agnes Scott at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
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