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Scots Volleyball: 2023 Conference Champs
When the women's volleyball team has a home game, the campus is quiet. All the action resides in Barnes gymnasium where students are chanting, dancing, and singing in support of the Lady Scots.
“Everyone loves playing in front of a crowd, and it's great to get them into the game,” star middle hitter Emma Kalbfleisch ’24 said. “As a team, we love that. When fans get hyped, it changes things for the better. We can feed off their energy and the environment they help create.”
Volleyball's success is no secret to Scots fans. As the second half of the fall season began, the Lady Scots were preparing to face a big challenge: winning back-to-back titles. In 2015, Covenant Volleyball won the USA South Conference tournament but didn’t the next year. In 2017, it happened again: the Lady Scots won the USA South Conference tournament but couldn’t repeat that win the following year. However, the Lady Scots were committed to stopping this trend in the 2023 season—and it paid off.
Sophomore outside hitter Kinsley Kleinnmann ’26 said the difference between this season and past seasons was the importance of team bonding: “If you get along well and put intentional time in knowing and caring for each other, your teammates are going to want to play with you and play harder with you. Coach Steph has put a big emphasis on being a good teammate.”
The Lady Scots started the season strong with a 5-0 start, the best since 2014. Towards the end of the season, the team was 18-1, with the majority of their wins being 3-0 matches. Along with this good start, five players were awarded Player of the Week, awards which are decided on and given through Covenant’s conference, the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS).
Women’s volleyball finished the season as 2023 Regular Season Champions and 2023 CCS Conference Champions with a record of 34 wins and two losses all season. Lady Scots volleyball is now ranked No. 24 in the nation, nabbing an appearance in the NCAA National tournament for the second year in a row.
This article was originally published as two pieces in The Bagpipe, Covenant’s student newspaper.