Photo by Matt Hembree
By Morgan Pruett
Staff Writer
On Saturday September 13, Sewanee Tigers women’s volleyball faced one of their greatest rivals on the court, Covenant, and came out victorious. After losing to Covenant earlier in the month three sets to zero, the Tigers were ready to play hard and prove themselves worthy. In their first home game of the season, every woman on the team showed up ready to play and earned a three sets to two win.
The game started out rough, with technical errors on both sides leading to a couple points here and there on either side, until Peyton Parent (C’19) picked up a clean dig, sent it to setter Constance Connolly (C’20) for a nice set up, and Stephanie Price (C’20) put a precise hit right in the center pool of the court. Covenant didn’t know what hit them and the game had truly begun.
As a whole, Price and Elizabeth Gill (C’18) put up some excellent blocks, and Caroline Owens (C’19) had some nice controlled hits from the right side, but Covenant’s Ginny Moore, Allie Jakes, and Olivia Becker had some heavy fire hits right down the line and off the block that pushed them forward in the games they won.
As the games moved forward, going back and forth, wins and losses, one player really rose above the rest and impressed the crowd with her hard work, ridiculous ups, and complete focus and dedication to the game: Destiny Stewart (C’21). In total, she had approximately 29 straight kills and 20 digs. Right when the ball seemed lost, she would come out of nowhere and have a clean dig or a hard hit from the back row.
“I think the match against Covenant went very well! We played them once before our home opener and we were still figuring out how to play as a team and lost that match. We are a relatively younger team with only three upperclassmen and we have been working hard in practices to find our pace and mesh with one another,” said Stewart.
“Personally, I think getting a win out of the five sets we had to play was more satisfying than just beating a team in three straight sets! The adrenaline is contagious and the feeling after fighting with everything you have and being successful is greater than any other. [Being a freshman starter] on the team is a very humbling experience,” she commented.
“Working hard this summer in preseason and every day in practice has been the main factor helping me get better every day. Without my coaches and teammates, I wouldn’t be able to be successful on the court!”
At the end of the day, both teams left a dangerously slippery amount of sweat on court and showed great sportsmanship. Schuyler Moore from Covenant went out of her way to tell the referee that she had tipped the ball before it went out of bounds, rightfully giving the point back to Sewanee.
Catch the Sewanee Tigers women’s volleyball team playing in Fowler Center next against Berry College on Saturday, September 30 at 11 a.m.