St. John rattled off a 10-0 run to win the third set and take a 2-1 lead. With its back against the wall, Covenant Christian battled back.
The Lions trailed 11-9 midway through the fourth set, then closed out the set with a 16-8 run to force a fifth. The Eagles took a 4-3 lead in the fifth set before Covenant Christian took a commanding 10-4 lead.
No. 18 Covenant Christian (14-12) held on to win 15-8 to defeat No. 15 St. John 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 15-25, 19-25, 15-8). The Lions advanced to the Division V volleyball regional round after Tuesday night’s win at St. John High.
Charlotte St. Pierre led the Lions with 16 kills. Jaci Frank finished with 10 kills. For St. John, Addison Seneca totaled 15 kills, five aces and three blocks. Marley Cassard had 27 assists and Sophia Blanchard tallied 13 digs.
“We definitely had (a serve receive) that we were struggling with,” Lions coach Ashley Kesterson said. “We recognized it, and we harped on it. It was about serving to spots, and just having the mentality, all gas to the end.”
The Lions jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set. The Eagles fought back to cut it to 19-16, but Covenant Christian closed out the set, 25-19.
St. John (18-14) rallied back to take a 9-3 lead in the second set. The Lions trimmed it to 19-16, but St. John rattled off a 6-3 run to win it 25-19 to tie the match.
The two sides tied 11 times in the third set before St. John ripped off a 10-0 run to win 25-15 to take a 2-1 set lead.
“Sometimes that adrenaline gets going,” St. John coach Dwayne Boudreaux said. “I think we played a little bit nervous, settled in two and three. Just a good team, Covenant Christian. Hats off to them, and good luck to those ladies in the next round.”
Covenant Christian jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set before several errors and two aces by Seneca helped St. John take a 9-8 lead. A flurry of errors and three aces by Alaina Window helped the Lions take a 23-12 lead.
“We did not play one game last week,” Kesterson said. “I was really worried about coming into the playoffs, and I told them we prepare to mentally face adversity all week long.”
St. John managed six straight points to cut into the deficit, but two kills by St. Pierre helped the Lions force a fifth set, winning it 25-19.
In the fifth set, the two sides traded points early on. St. Pierre and Frank combined for four kills to spark a 7-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. Window and Kelsey Newton added two more kills late to help Covenant Christian close out the set, 15-8.
Boudreaux was proud of his team, which hosted its first home playoff match since 2021.
“Just incredible perseverance,” Boudreaux said. “These ladies have had four coaches in four years, so really proud of the effort they gave. Our program is going to be strong because of the effort they put in.”
#John #Covenant #Christian #play #volleyball #playoff #match #High #School #Sports
Source link
