Covenant College

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- Covenant volleyball head coach Stephanie Wharton landed her 100th career win as volleyball swept their Saturday Coca-Cola Classic slate with wins against Methodist and Rhodes at Barnes PE Center.

Avery Maiden posted another 17 kills to pace the Scots, while Aubrianna Gerdes added 14. Gabby Sumrall notched 11 kills and seven blocks in an impressive two-way performance as well to highlight the day for Covenant (3-1).

MATCH ONE: Covenant 3, Methodist 0

Stephanie Wharton crossed the 100-win threshold as the Scots' balanced attack thwarted the Monarchs in a 3-0 sweep. 

Avery Maiden had nine kills on 14 swings for a .571 hitting percentage, while Cali Sandhoff added six kills and 13 assists and Sarah Jennings contributed 10 digs.

Following a dominant 25-11 set one win, Covenant had to battle with a pesky Methodist (0-3) squad in the second set, but a late four-point rally, highlighted by kills from Maiden and Aubrianna Gerdes, put the set out of reach. 

The third set was even tighter, as the Monarchs would not go down without a fight, going up 11-9 at one point. Later, at a 19-19 deadlock, a Gerdes kill and two attack errors by Methodist pulled the Scots ahead by three, and then a Maiden kill, Jennings ace, and Sandhoff kill punched Wharton's ticket to the 100-win club.

Addison Johnson had 11 kills and 10 digs to pace the Monarchs, while Harper Evans had 16 assists.

MATCH TWO: Covenant 3, Rhodes 0

Aided by the momentum from five straight set wins, Covenant's freight train blew past Rhodes, 3-0, in their second match of the day at Barnes PE Center.

Avery Maiden and Aubrianna Gerdes combined for 15 kills to lead the way, while Cali Sandhoff had 12 assists and eight digs to lead in those categories. 

In a match that looked like it would be a thriller early on, neither team could find any degrees of separation in the first set, trading blows up to the 19-19 mark. However, a 5-1 run, which was partially consisted of two kills from Maiden, handed the Scots a lead they would not relinquish, taking the early 1-0 lead.

Covenant's confidence only grew from there, as a 9-2 run in the second set, highlighted by a quartet of service aces, put the Scots ahead 14-10. Another 9-1 stretch late in the set, which contained contributions from Scarlett Martz, Kennedy Barber, and Sandhoff, clinched the set to give Covenant a commanding 2-0 lead.

With the momentum fully on their side, the Scots did not let up, outscoring the Lynx (2-1) 20-7 after a 5-5 tie early on to give themselves a seamless day two of the Coca-Cola Classic.

Yzzi Dsamou and Chloe Dunnigan led in kills for Rhodes with four apiece, while Emma Clark (10) led in assists and Olivia Wiseman (11) in digs.

UP NEXT

The Scots will take their first regular season road trip up to Bangor, Maine to play Husson on Thursday at 6 p.m.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS

Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.