Covington edges River in volleyball opener, Cavaliers will host Blacksburg Thursday

The James River girls opened the volleyball season with a tough loss to Covington Monday. The Cougars took a five-set marathon in Springwood.

River got off to a good start, winning the first set 25-16. Covington battled back to win the next two, 25-20 and 25-21, but the Knights regrouped and took the fourth set, 25-20, to tie the match. Covington then won the deciding match to 15 by a 15-10 score.

“We played very good defense,” said River coach Davina Copsey. “Covington also played really good defense. We took many good swings, but they put most of our attacks back up so the kill numbers are low.”

Ripley Barry led the Knights with five kills and seniors Emma Lester and Lexi McCullough had four each. Lester and McCullough led with nine digs each and sophomore Konner Myers had eight.

Bella Gilliland had five blocks for the Knights, while Emma Francis had four and Brea Anduiza had three. Senior Mary Hoye led the defense with 22 digs. Anduiza and Myers had three aces each.

River will be back in action Thursday with a trip to Bassett. Next Tuesday, August 30, the Knights will host Stuarts Draft.

Lord Botetourt opened at Christiansburg Tuesday but results were too late for publication. The Cavs have their home opener on Thursday against Blacksburg and next Tuesday they host to Auburn. That’s always an interesting match as LB coach Julie Conner is going up against her sister, Auburn coach Sherry Millirons. The two sisters have both won multiple state championships.

Look for a preview of both county high school teams in a special section in this week’s Fincastle Herald.