Piedmont volleyball storms past Covenant College

DEMOREST -- The Piedmont College volleyball team thrived off the energy of its rowdiest crowd of the year on Tuesday at The Cave, knocking off Covenant College 3-0, taking hold of the second spot in the South Division of the USA South Conference.

Getting a stellar performance from senior Kaitlin Norman at the net tonight with the veteran tallying three kills in every set of the 3-0 win, Piedmont stormed the court early winning 25-14 in the opening set to take control of the match from the first whistle. The Scots would have something to say about the result in the second set however taking a late 24-21 lead after a Piedmont attacking error to sit just one point away from tying the match.

With the momentum up for grabs, Piedmont again listened to the Cave Crazies out in force tonight as the hometown fans urged them on to five straight points capped off by a Kaitlin Norman kill for the 26-24 winner in set #2. For Norman, the kill was the second of the final three points of the set as her two kills sandwiched another from sophomore Taylor Cramsey who had seven on the evening.

Now with a 2-0 set lead in the match, Piedmont would not be denied its win the third rattling off a 25-16 win in the final set of the match to earn the overall 3-0 match victory. The final point came on an emphatic Cramsey kill sending the Cave Crazies and the Lady Lions on the bench into a fiery frenzy to cap off a 2013 home season that saw PC go 8-2 in ten matches at the friendly confines.

Norman was the team's offensive leader with her 9 kills on 23 attempts including several crowd-pleasers as she swung a .261 attack percentage, also a team high amongst those with more than 3 attempts. Cramsey added seven on 26 attempts tying her with newcomer Jackie Campbell who tallied hers on 30 attempts.

Assist leader for the night was sophomore Xandy Green who had 17 in the win while senior Katheryn Knarr tacked on a dozen to the effort. Green had one of her best performances of the season the last time these two USA South foes met up with her 21 assist, 14 dig night against the Scots on September 24th of this year in a five-set victory for PC.

For the defensive side of the court, Piedmont's Katie Faith led all players in the match with her 19 digs as she added a pair of assists as well. Also reaching double figures for the squad was Norman who chipped in 13 while Knarr had 14 to contribute.

Piedmont ends the 2013 season at home with eight wins in ten matches and moves to 23-6 overall with the victory. PC clinches a spot in the conference championship tourney as well with the win moving to 9-4 as LaGrange College currently sits in 4th place in the South Division with a 3-8 record. The Panthers cannot catch the Lady Lions as Piedmont only has three to play and cannot finish below 9-7.

Next up for the Lady Lions will be a tri-match out of conference play for a change of pace as they visit Rome, Georgia on Oct. 26 for a pair of contests against host Berry College and visiting Milsaps College. After the Saturday tri-match affair at Berry, Piedmont will then travel on to face a USA South opponent in Huntingdon College on Oct. 27.