Lookout Mountain, GA – For the third time this season, the Berea College women's volleyball team squared off with the Covenant College Scots, this time in the opening round of the USA South Conference Tournament.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to mount a significant scoring run. Berea led 15-11 before Covenant tallied a six-point stretch to go up 17-15. The Mountaineers answered with a 4-2 run to tie the match at 19-19 before the Scots regained the lead and secured the 25-21 win.
Berea jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the second set, but the Scots responded by scoring nine of the next 12 points for a 9-8 advantage. Covenant continued to add to their lead and finished off the second set 25-17.
After losing the first two sets, Berea built and sustained a lead throughout the third set, posting a 25-19 win and sending the match to a fourth set. In the fourth, Covenant took the early advantage and was able to hold off a number of Mountaineer rallies to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Sophomore
Julie Santana (Channelview, TX) led the Berea attack with 15 kills. Senior
Jonesy McGregor (Lawrenceburg, KY) added 20 assists. Defensively, junior
Isabel Marquez (Albuquerque, NM) recorded six blocks and senior
Fabiana De Jesús (Caguas, PR) had 25 digs.
Berea finishes their season with a 20-12 record, 12-4 in conference play. The 20-win season is the highest single-season win total in the NCAA era for the Mountaineers, and comes in the first season for new head coach
Karlis Dunens.