COVINGTON – The Covington Lady Buccs won their third straight game by defeating Bethel in four sets, 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23.
The victory improves Covington’s record to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the TRC.
“This was a big win for us,” said Covington coach Stephanie Robinson. “We spilt two matches with them last year. They are a very good defensive team, but we showed a lot of fight and kept our focus. The girls are supportive of each other and that helps keep us going through the ebbs and flows of the match.”
Covington found itself in a tough situation in the first set as Bethel held a three-point lead. After a timeout, the Lady Buccs battled back to take a 25-23 victory in the opening set. When the set was tied 23-23, Dakohta Kenworthy pounded out a huge kill and then blocked a hit by Bethel to put Covington up 1-0.
Covington jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the second set and eventually held on down the stretch to capture a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead.
Bethel had a lot of fight and energy, which led to a narrow 25-23 victory in the third set to keep the match alive.
Fortunately for Covington, the Lady Buccs were able to grind out a victory in the fourth set that went back-and-forth from start to finish. Covington did push a 21-16 lead, but Bethel was able to battle back to make the score closer than expected.
“We had a lot of hitting errors tonight,” Robinson said. “Our serve received was good. Ramse (Vanderhorst) had an exceptional night on defense.”
The two seniors, Taylor Kirker and Mazelle Reck, also had strong performances.
“Taylor (Kirker) does a great job of keeping everyone focused and on the same page,” Robinson explained. “Mazelle always has positive energy and it spreads to everyone else.”
Dakohta Kenworthy led the Lady Buccs with 13 kills, while Ava Hartwig had 8 blocks, Ramse Vanderhorst 25 digs and Taylor Kirker had 22 assists.
Next up is a road trip to Northridge next Tuesday.
COVINGTON STATS:
Taylor Kirker – 8 digs, 6 kills, 1 ace, 4 blocks, 22 assists
Mazelle Reck – 4 digs, 6 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks
Dakohta Kenworthy – 12 digs, 13 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks
Ramse Vanderhorst – 25 digs, 1 ace, 2 assists
Addison Ventura – 18 digs, 10 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks, 15 assists
Hollan Koffer – 15 digs, 9 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks
Ava Hartwig – 2 kills, 8 blocks, 1 assist
Nell Rogers – 8 digs, 1 ace
