Covington put on an impressive display of volleyball in a three-game sweep of Southeastern to open the sectional tournament.

October 18, 2006 – SIDNEY
From the time Michelle Barhorst served the first point of Covington's sectional tournament match with Southeastern to her pounding the ball for match point, the Lady Buccs played their most inspiring volleyball of the season.

Covington dominated - winning in three straight games, 25-8, 25-15 and 25-16.

"The girls were so much fun to watch tonight," said a delighted Covington coach Stephanie Robinson. "We took it to them right away and never let up."

Covington did take it to Southeastern from the outset, scoring the first 10 points of the match. The run was impressive as Michelle Barhorst served each point and Alex Christian, Covington's big hitter, was yet to have an attack attempt.

"They (Southeastern) had a hard time handling Michelle's serves," described Robinson. "It was a great start because Al (Alex Christian) hadn't even touched the ball yet and we were up 10-0."

Southeastern took a timeout to stop the bleeding, but Robinson used the break as an opportunity to remind her team not to get complacent.

"I reminded the girls that we were playing a very good team,' Robinson described. "Southeastern hustled all night and played aggressive. We had to play well to beat them."

The Lady Buccs responded as Christian asserted herself, while LauriKate Bayman and Alyssa Angle continued to pound the ball as well. The result was a 25-8 victory in the first game.

"LauriKate played very well tonight," Robinson said. "She saw the floor very well and hit the ball in the open areas."

Covington took the momentum from the first game and carried over to the second game by jumping out to a 9-2 lead.

Southeastern tried desperately to get back into the game, but the Covington defense was outstanding. The closest Covington allowed the Lady Trojans to get was 18-13 as the Lady Buccs took the second game, 25-15.

"The girls were diving for every ball," Robinson continued. "Laynie Fulks, Michelle Barhorst and LauriKate had some awesome digs tonight."

Southeastern managed to slow down Covington in the early going of the third game and was tied at one point 11-11. But the Lady Buccs had too much firepower and outscored Southeastern 14-5 over the remainder of the match. Michelle Barhorst closed out the match at 25-16 with a powerful kill.

"Our hitters and our defense were the difference," Robinson described. "A lot of that has to do with Meredith Tobias. She did a great job of spreading the ball around and keeping Southeastern off balance."

Tobias recorded 35 assists on the night, distributing the ball to Alex Christian (14 kills), LauriKate Bayman (7 kills), Michelle Barhorst (6 kills), Holly Tobias (5 kills), Alyssa Angle (2 kills) and Laynie Fulks (1 kill). Tobias also had 3 kills and a solo block.

Michelle Barhorst recorded seven blocks and 13 digs, while Bayman had five blocks and 14 digs.

The Lady Buccs recorded 14 aces on the night, five by LauriKate Bayman.

With the victory, Covington improves to 17-6 on the season and will face Fairlawn in the sectional finals at Sidney High School on Saturday. Game time is scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm.