October 22, 2009 - PIQUA
By Rob Kiser, Piqua Daily Call
For most of its Division IV sectional volleyball matchup with Russia Tuesday, Covington found themselves being pushed.

But, the Lady Buccs had enough power and poise to persevere against a scrappy and upset-minded Lady Raiders team 29-27, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21. Covington, the fourth seed, will play sixth Riverside at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the lower bracket sectional title.

"I think we do (play better when their backs are to the wall)," Covington coach Jim Smith said. "When we get a lead, we struggle on serve receive. We relax and get a little sloppy."

But, when the Lady Buccs are challenged and swing aggressively, they are hard to stop.

In a pattern that would follow througout the night, Covington used the power of outsides Caitlyn Crawford and Emily Henry to open a seemingly comfortable 17-13 lead in the opening game.

But, with the blocking and hitting of freshman Bethany York swinging the momentum, Russia went on an 11-3 run and found itself with four game points at 24-20.

But, Shelby Hoblit served five straight points, including an ace and the Buccs led 25-24.

The see-saw battle continued until a Crawford kill evened things at 27. Alyssa Angle served two straight points, with game point at 28-27 coming on a net foul after a long rally.

"That was a big game for us," Smith said. "If we had lost that first game, I think it would have been tough to win the match."

Again in the second game, Covington led early only to see the Lady Raiders rally.

But, this time, Russia would not be denied.

It looked like a repeat of the first game when a Russia 23-20 lead started to slip away. A kill by Crawford and block by Shelby Hoblit got Covington to withing 24-23, but a kill by Russia freshman Olivia Monnin evened things up at one game apiece.

"The first three games tonight, we led and then Russia would come back," Smith said. "The fourth game was a little different. It was more even at the start and then we took a lead later."

And while Russia gave a great effort, Covington just had too much firepower, ending the match on a Haley Reames kill down the line.

"Our outsides did a nice job," Smith said. "Caitlyn (Crawford) and Emily (Henry) both had strong matches. And in the last game, when they were calling things extremely close, Alyssa (Covington setter Alyssa Angle) was the one that stayed clean. She did a good job tonight."

For Covington, 16-8, Angle dished out 45 assists, while Henry and Crawford each had 16 kills. Rachel Rindler led the defense with 28 digs.