Covington had its hands full with a scrappy Ansonia team, but came away with a victory in three games.

October 3, 2006 – ANSONIA
After a hard-fought, emotional contest against state ranked and unbeaten Versailles on Monday, Covington coach Stephanie Robinson was worried about how her Lady Buccs would perform against Ansonia.

"We really played our hearts out against Versailles and expended a lot of energy," said Robinson in regards to a 21-25, 18-25, 23-25 loss on Monday. "Sometimes when you lose an emotional game like that, it's difficult to come back and play well the next night."

Robinson had reason to worry as Ansonia gave Covington everything it could handle, only to fall in three straight games by the scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 26-24.

"They (Ansonia) are much better than their record indicates," complimented Robinson. "They were scrappy and are well coached. They have some nice hitters."

Covington opened the contest by building a 20-9 lead and appeared to be on its way to an easy opening game win.

Ansonia battled back by scoring seven straight points before Covington sided out to make the score 21-16.

"That's what I mean by scrappy," said Robinson. "They fought back and we started to make mistakes we shouldn't make."

Covington regrouped just in time as Alyssa Angle served the final four points of the game for a 25-16 win.

The Lady Buccs took command of the match in the second game as Michelle Barhorst became a force at the net. Barhorst recorded four of her seven blocks in the second game.

Meanwhile, the Covington hitters began to find the mark as Covington took a 25-14 win.

"Michelle did a very nice job blocking tonight," Robinson said. "She's improved in here footwork and pressing and it's paying off."

Leading 2 games to 0, Covington subbed freely in the final game as Ansonia built 20-12 lead.

Erin Christian served ten straight points to put the Lady Buccs ahead by two as Covington closed out the match with a 26-24 win.

"I used the momentum we gained in the second game to get everyone into the third game," explained Robinson. "We were still able to close out the match, although it was closer than what I had hoped."

Along with seven blocks, Michelle Barhorst recorded eight kills.

Alex Christian pounded out 20 kills and three blocks, while Meredith Tobias recorded 33 assists.

Covington improves to 13-5 on the season and 7-2 in the Cross County Conference.

The Lady Buccs host Tri-Village on Thursday for "Senior Night".