Eagles hold on for LIS victory

When you hear the word “slugfest” in sports, you would most likely think of boxing, not volleyball.

But a slugfest is exactly what happened Thursday evening between St. Anne’s-Belfield and Covenant in an LIS volleyball match as the Eagles stopped the Saints 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9).

Covenant (9-7, 4-1 LIS) fell behind early in every game but the fifth, only to rebound and come back to win three of the five. The two teams traded victories through the first four games, including a 26-24 Covenant win in the second game of the night.

Emily Smethurst led the Eagles in assists with 42 and also added seven digs, while Sallie Cathcart led the team with 33 digs and put down 18 kills.

“We were up and down like young teams are,” said first-year Covenant coach Don Gresham. “We scored when we had to score, which shows that we are maturing.

“A month ago, we would have lost that game. I tell them to play the game and not to look at the score.”

Not looking at the score did wonders for the Eagles, as they trailed in every match but the final one.

St. Anne’s (9-7, 4-1) had problems all night holding leads early and midway through games, and it showed — especially in the second game, when the Saints held a 15-10 edge, only to lose 26-24.

“We played well. We just have to work out those little kinks where we let teams back into the games,” said St. Anne’s coach Stacey Gearhart. “We’re still young and we just don’t have that confidence and that experience to get us through those tight matches.”

Morgan Thacker led STAB with 22 digs and 10 kills. Amanda Conner and Trent Holden added seven kills apiece.

Covenant will host St. Catherine’s on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., while STAB hosts Trinity Episcopal today at 5:30.