LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. - In Saturday's USA South play day at Covenant College, the Meredith Avenging Angels swept the hosts 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 27-25) and fell just short in a 3-2 (27-25, 22-25, 25-15, 18-25, 9-15) loss versus league leader Maryville. Emery McGee led with 44 digs on the day.

Meredith opened the day on an 8-2 run over the CC Scots. Covenant battled to pull to within two and remained close through 13-10.

The Angels scored three consecutive points to force Covenant to call a timeout, but Meredith maintained control after the break in action. A pair of Karlie Long kills extended MCVB's advantage to eight.

With the Angels ahead 23-14, the Scots put together a four-point run, but a pair of ball handling errors pushed Meredith to the win.

Set two followed much the same pattern leaving Meredith with a 2-0 match lead.

Covenant jumped out 4-1 early in the third frame and forced Meredith to regain composure. A missed CC serve led to a stuff from Long and Alex Hafliger to launch a 5-2 lead to put the Angels back in front 6-5.

Meredith remained in control until the Scots reset the score at 23 on a block error. The advantage shifted back and forth until Emily Hendricks landed back-to-back blows to secure the match for the Avenging Angels.

Meredith faced the Maryville Scots, undefeated in league play, in the second match of the day. The first two sets were evenly matched and led to a 1-1 score heading into the third frame.

The MC Scots took the first lead of set three, but Meredith pushed back to edge past the Scots 8-6. Maryville scored four of the next seven to pull to within one, but Meredith's Jasmine Aguinaldo led the Angels on a 6-0 series to extend the Angels advantage to 17-10.

The Avenging Angels maintained the offensive pressure and finished off the Scots with a double-digit lead.

Meredith carried the momentum into the fourth set with a 2-1 match lead. The Angels opened with a 5-1 edge and extended the advantage to four at 10-6.

A pair of Meredith missteps opened the door for the Scots, and Maryville scored six unanswered points to take a 17-12 lead.

Hafliger landed a winner, but the Scots extended their lead to seven before Meredith had a chance to respond.

A Maryville service error put the ball in the hands of McGee who served up a winner as the Angels pulled to within four at 22-18.

But the Scots' Morgan Hill dished out three consecutive assists to help Maryville secure the win and force a deciding set.

The battle continued as the first six points were scored on errors from both teams to leave the score at 3-3. But Maryville put together a 4-0 run to give the Scots an 8-4 advantage as the teams exchanged ends to finish out the match.

Hendricks and Hafliger paired up for a stuff, and Elizabeth Pattison landed a pair of winners from the right side as Meredith cut their deficit to two.

Maryville entered double-digit points on back-to-back winners, and Angels Head Coach Fiona Barkley called for a timeout to stifle the Scots.

Long and setter Hannah Blaylock paired up for two more points, but the Scots slipped ahead to a 15-9 win for the match.

Long recorded a pair of double-doubles with a combined 34 kills and as many digs. Hendricks added 16 kills, seven digs, and Hafliger tallied 13 kills and seven blocks. Blaylock tallied 32 assists versus Covenant and 34 in the five-set thriller with Maryville.

The Avenging Angels return to Raleigh to host cross-town rival William Peace Wednesday at 7 p.m. The final regular season play day is slated for Saturday in Weatherspoon Gymnasium. Meredith will pair with Greensboro and Mary Baldwin to close out the conference schedule.

The USA South Conference Tournament is scheduled to begin Friday, November 7, at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Virginia. The top-five North division regular season finishers will match up with the top-three from the South.