COVINGTON – The Covington Lady Buccs overcame a rough first set by showing so much grit to take over the match in a four-set victory over Miami East, 19-25, 25-21, 25-9, 25-20.
Miami East has been a volleyball powerhouse for several years and has won two straight league titles in the TRC heading into this season. Unfortunately, when the season started, the Lady Vikings have had some key players out of the lineup due to injuries and one of their top players, Khalia Lawrence, is still off the floor.
Covington started off fast in the first set by building an 8-4 lead, but Miami East was able to battle back to take over the momentum by tying the score at 8-8. The momentum carried through the rest of the first set as Miami East took a 1-0 lead with a 25-19 win.
The second set was a back-and-forth contest until Covington was able to take a 23-21 lead. Senior Taylor Kirker served the Lady Buccs out of trouble with two straight points to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 win.
This was a critical situation as Covington took over the momentum by dominating the third set with a 25-9 win. Miami East started the set with two straight points and then Taylor Kirker served eight straight points to take an 8-2 lead. Afterwards, Covington outscored Miami East 17-7 over the remainder of the third set to win 25-9 to put itself within one set for a huge victory.
Miami East showed grit themselves by taking a 5-3 lead early in the fourth set. Covington was able to battle its way back to take a 16-12 lead and after a timeout Miami East was able to cut the margin to 23-20. Taylor Kirker, who is an elite player, served the final two points Covington needed to secure the victory, 25-20.
“This was another great team effort with us pulling together after the first set,” said Covington coach Stephanie Robinson. “Taylor Kirker is an incredible player who leads by example on the floor. We have a very talented team and I am very proud of the way they played tonight. We have had a successful first half of our season and we need to get back to work and finish the second half of our season strong.”
There was a huge crowd on hand to support Covington, which made it a great experience for the Lady Buccs.
“Thank you so much to the community and students for coming out tonight to support us against a very good team,” Robinson said. “It means a lot to the girls and the atmosphere makes it so fun and exciting. Hopefully they will all come back this Thursday on Candy Night against Troy Christian.”
Covington improves its overall record to 9-2 and remain unbeaten in the TRC at 7-0.
