The Shadow
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Senior Taylor Ginger got the ball up 7-5 in the decisive fifth set Tuesday night.
She never gave it up.
Ginger served the final eight points of the match as Covington stunned Parry McCluer on senior night at the Cougar Den 26-24, 20-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-5.
It was a big night for the five-player volleyball CHS Class of 2015.
• Ginger had seven kills and five aces, including three in her final serving run.
• Dakota Botkin knocked down a career-high 18 kills to go with six blocks, including back-to-back big plays to end the match.
• Kesley Young led the Cougars with 30 digs, going over 300 for the season.
• Autumn Woodson had four digs and a critical kill late in the final set.
• And Mackenzie Madison added three assists and a dig to a solid floor game.
“The seniors did a great job,” CHS coach Mary Tyree said. “It was a big win.”
Laramie McCallister had 17 assists and 16 digs for the winners, while Azia Cardwell added five kills, five aces and 10 digs.
The Cougars totaled 103 defensive digs on the night.
“I told the girls that I knew they had this in them,” said Tyree. “We didn’t get discouraged when we lost those two sets. Our body language was good. In the fifth set, we just got in a rhythm.”
The win lifted the Cougars to an even 11-11 on the season, 6-3 in the Pioneer District.
Parry McCluer won the junior varsity match.
Covington finishes the regular season on Thursday at Craig County.
“I challenged the girls for the week,” Tyree said. “First it was Parry McCluer. Now we need to finish it off at Craig.”
On Saturday, Covington posted a 3-2 record at the Auburn Invitational Tournament.
The Cougars posted wins over Chilhowie (25-17, 22-25, 15-7), Bath County (25-9, 25-20) and Bland County (25-11, 25-22) and lost to Craig County (26-24, 25-23) and Auburn (25-16, 25-14).
Ginger had a team-high 22 kills on the day, while Botkin added 21 kills and 12 blocks. Woodson and Cardwell were also in double figures with 13 and 12 kills respectively.
Young’s 57 digs led the back line, with Laramie McCallister adding 35 and Maddi Myers chipping in 27. McCallister had 39 assists.
