This year's Lady Scots Volleyball team made school history with Covenant's longest ever run in an NCAA tournament. (Photo by Kyle Delk.)
From this has-been baseball player to you lucky freshman who just got here and just don’t know any better, you should know that this fall semester has been a special one. “Why,” you ask? Because our volleyball team, made up of some of the scrappiest and tenacious athletes you’ll ever meet, took part in one of the most thrilling and memorable seasons in Covenant’s athletic history.
It could be argued that the greatest joy in sport is not found in playing it, it is in remembering it. For that matter, perhaps the sweetest part of enjoying anything is not only the thing itself, but the memory of it once it’s done. The memory of a nail-biter — there were plenty of those — or a spine-tingling musical performance, or even a great meal seems to hold its ability to give you that same feeling you had when you first experienced it.
I hope you don’t mind me getting a little off topic here, but if you’re like me, you watched American Idol with your family every Tuesday and Wednesday night way back when. It’s just what you did. Paula never said anything mean, Randy said “Dawg” a lot and told people they were “pitchy,” but everyone waited to see what Simon would say after a performance. If he ripped into someone it usually made for a good time for everyone except the singer who auditioned. But every now and then, Simon would simply use the word “unmemorable” to describe a performer. Bear with me here, but if Simon Cowell were to have witnessed this past volleyball season (picture him sitting next to screaming Morgan Copeland wearing a “Defend the Mountain” V-Neck), I think “unmemorable” would be the last word on his mind.
Led by the senior trio of Ginny Moore (OH), Schuyler Moore (S), Jess Seehorn (S/RS), and by Co-Captain Hannah Harris (OH), the Lady Scots put together a run that hasn’t been matched since Covenant entered the N.C.A.A. in 2013. Hints of the team’s potential were seen throughout the Emory Invitational in early September as the Lady Scots went back and forth against formidable opponents such as DeSales University (PA.), Howard Payne University (TX.), and Chapman University (CA.). After suffering consecutive losses to Sewanee and Averett shortly thereafter, the volleyball program went on a tear in which they took 19 of the last 20 regular season games. Even more remarkable was their unprecedented 17-game winning streak spanning both the regular season and postseason.
(Sidenote: I think I can speak on behalf of the Covenant community in saying that we’re glad the volleyball team doesn’t keep to the same tradition as the baseball team by not shaving during winning streaks).
But greater than the incredible come-from-behind wins and upsets that seemed to become commonplace as the season wore on, each one of these girls did it with grace, determination, and
some of the rowdiest and proudest fans cheering them on the whole way through. I end this homage by using a line from the beloved Scottish classic, Braveheart: “In the year of our Lord 2017, patriots of Scotland, tired from long bus rides and 6 a.m. practices on Monday mornings, charged the hardwood of Lookout Mountain. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen.”
Thank you, girls.