Hawks Take Down Berea At Covenant

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga.- In the first of their three matches hosted by Covenant College, Huntingdon volleyball(5-12 overakk, 1-1 CCS) defeated the Mountaineers of Berea College(4-9 overall) in four sets, 3-1.

How it happened

In a dramatic opening set that exceeded the standard 25 points to win, Berea managed to defeat the Hawks 26-24. Huntingdon came swinging out of the gates, with an ace from Eva Ellenburg giving the Hawks a 4-2 lead, but Berea put together a run to even the score at 11. The two teams would go on to trade the next couple of serves, but a 5-1 run from the Mountaineers gave them an 18-15 lead that grew to 21-16. Huntingdon, led by Lydia Hitchcock, clawed their way back to make the score 22-21, but a final surge from Berea was enough to take the set and put the Mountaineers ahead 1-0.

Not to be outdone, the Hawks responded by taking the second set with a narrow 25-23 victory. Similar to the first set, Huntingdon started hot, taking a 5-0 lead, capitalizing on Berea errors and ending their run with a kill from Aly Harris. Not dismayed, the Mountaineers battled back to even the score at 13, but Huntingdon never lost their lead, making the most of their 11 kills on the set to tie the match 1-1.

Still hot, Huntingdon claimed the third set as well, this time by a score of 26-24. Berea claimed an early 6-3 lead, but kills from Lily VanDyke and Izzy Valldeperas sparked a Huntingdon run that tied the set at 16. Assisted by Molly Wilson, Huntingdon claimed their first lead of the set following a kill from Morgan Suggs 18-17, but quickly found themselves trailing again 22-20. Led by Aly Harris, the Hawks stormed back, outscoring Berea 6-2 in the final stages to claim the set and go ahead 2-1.

To take the match, Huntingdon pulled out a 25-18 fourth set victory. Following multiple kills from Ashlen Janowski, Huntingdon found themselves ahead 8-2 early and never looked back, pushing their lead to as much as 19-8 en route to victory. Tying their match-high in kills with 14, Huntingdon's aggressive attack to close the match was too much for the Mountaineers, with a final kill from Jessi Hilyer putting a stamp on the Hawks victory.

Hawk Top Performers

• #12 Ashlen Janowski- 12 kills, 6 digs
• #9 Aly Harris- 10 kills, 4 digs
• #3 Jessi Hilyer- 4 kills, 23 assists

The Hawks return to action at Covenant tomorrow, September 28th, facing off against the Scots and Agnes Scott College. Games are scheduled for 12:00 and 2:00 PM CT.