Covenant stops St. Anne’s in 4 games

Behind strong efforts from Alex Howerton and Sallie Cathcart, the Covenant volleyball team defeated St. Anne’s-Belfield 3-1 (25-18, 25-11, 17-25, 25-20) on Wednesday night.

Howerton, a junior, and Cathcart, a sophomore, proved to be too much for the Saints, combining for 34 kills to go along with 29 digs.

“That’s a really good offensive night for them,” Eagles head coach Don Gresham said of his underclassmen. “They were flying all over the court … they were really bringing it tonight.”

After holding the advantage for most of the first game, Covenant found themselves only up one point at 18-17 following a 6-0 Saints run. The Eagles responded to the challenge with a run of their own, reeling off seven of the last eight points to take the first game 25-18.

Covenant would employ a similar spurt to seize control of the second game. With the score knotted at 4 in the early going, the Eagles ripped nine straight points to take a commanding 13-4 lead. St. Anne’s could not recover from Covenant’s quick barrage and found itself in an 0-2 hole after the Eagles won the second game 25-11.

“Anytime you have a team this young, it’s important to get in front early,” Gresham said. “We don’t necessarily have the experience yet to be in those close games, so getting a lead is big for us.”

After a long timeout between games, the Saints jumped out to a 16-7 lead and maintained the high level of play throughout, winning game three 25-17 and extending the contest to a fourth game. 

Despite improved play following the first two games, the Saints were not able to overcome the 0-2 deficit and lost a back-and-forth fourth game 25-20.

“I just told my girls that the game wasn’t over, and to go out there with no regrets and just play,” St. Anne’s coach Stacey Gearhart said about the long timeout between games two and three. “We’re a young team … but when we get playing, we’re a really good team, and that’s what happened in games three and four.”

Covenant (3-4) hosts Tandem Friends this afternoon. The Saints (1-2) looks to rebound today when they play host to St. Catherine’s.