Volleyball - Varsity Girls
Team Roster
Coaches
Athletics Roster
Heather Mills - Head Coach | EMAIL
Coach Mills has coached high school volleyball for over twenty years, including the last fourteen at Covenant Day. She grew up around athletics on college campuses where she learned to draw upon the life lessons in teamwork and competition that come from participating in sports.Mills earned her BS in History/Political Science and Secondary Education from Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and also holds a Masters in History from Winthrop University. She currently serves students through a combination of athletics and counseling as the Director of Guidance and College Counseling at CDS. During the past eight years, Coach Mills has had several of her athletes go on to play collegiate volleyball at universities from the D-3 to D-1 level, and has taken the CDS Lady Lions to the 3A NCISAA State Championship finals for three consecutive seasons, earning the runner-up title each time. Since joining the Covenant Day coaching staff in 2002, Coach Mills is most proud of the community within the volleyball program where all coaches and players are contributing to an atmosphere that fosters teamwork, stewardship, spiritual development and tenacity.
Karen Stewart - Assistant Coach | EMAILCoach Stewart was a four-year varsity volleyball player during her high school career in Japan. She attended Central Piedmont Community College and UNC-Charlotte. She has worked as the Administrative Assistant at Christ Our Shepherd children's ministries for seventeen years. Her extensive coaching career includes two years in Japan, eleven years at the Carolina Juniors Volleyball club, and twelve years at Covenant Day at all levels from middle school to varsity. Coach Stewart joined the CDS coaching staff in 2004.
Achievements
Lauren Villarreal '08 (Palm Beach Atlantic University)
Kayla Osterhus '10 (Wingate University)
Jessica Pace '11 (Pfeiffer University)
Shelby Nassar '13 (Wingate University)
Megan Embry '15 (Anderson University )
Christina Goforth '15 (Berry College)
Hannah Billiard '15 (Berry College)
Charissa Coleman '16 (Gardner Webb University)
Sarah BIlliard '17 (University of Virginia)
Kristen Seibert '17 (Wofford College)
Volleyball - Varsity Girls
Beyond the Game with Meg Hopkins - South Charlotte Sports Report
Lions Volleyball Looks Strong - Matthews Mint Hill Weekly
Match Recap 10/2/2018
All four sets of this match proved to be an intense battle as the Lions edged out the Knights of Charlotte Christian. After watching the JV close out Christian in straight sets, the Varsity took some extra time to salute the seniors on the team: Meg Hopkins, Emma Kruger, Madison Stophel, and Taylor Weber. The Lions were primed for the win, and had to go to extra points in the first and third sets to get the job done. Olivia Futch was on fire as she racked up 25 kills, 7 aces and 12 digs, and Morgan Stophel added an amazing 22 kills to the effort. Katie Hallenbeck recorded an impressive total of 13 kills, 1 ace, and 10 digs, complemented by Robin Dixon's 10 kills. Senior Meg Hopkins had an exceptional match with 10 kills, 3 aces, 8 digs and 47 assists, accompanied by Senior Madison Stophel's 20 digs and Maddie Poole's 6 kills and 3 aces. Next up for the Lions is an away match at Charlotte Country Day on Thursday, 10/4.
Match Recap 9/25/2018 vs Providence Day
Our Varsity Lions roared out to a great start and won a big first set over the PDS Chargers on Tuesday afternoon, 25-14. It was a close back-and-forth match in the second set, but our girls couldn't close it out, and took a 23-25 loss. The Lions continued to play hard throughout the match and the scoreline ran nearly even, with the Chargers getting the edge in the final two sets, 20-25 and 22-25. Morgan Stophel led the team in digs with 14, followed by Meg Hopkins with 13. Hopkins also contributed 9 kills and 1 ace. Olivia Futch ended with a whopping 16 kills, 2 aces and 4 digs, while Maddie Poole landed 7 kills and 6 aces. Freshman, Savannah DeCarlo produced an amazing 32 assists and also served up 6 aces in the match. The Lions next match will be on Thursday, 9/27, at Charlotte Latin.
Match Recap 9/20/2018 vs Cannon School
The Varsity Volleyball team hosted conference opponent, Cannon School, on Thursday afternoon. Our Lions were off their rhythm during the match and succumbed to the Cougars in three straight sets. Senior Meg Hopkins came up with 3 kills, 5 digs, and 11 set-assists, and Olivia Futch contributed 9 kills and 7 digs. Katie Hallenbeck made 6 digs and 1 kill, while Maddie Poole recorded 2 kills and 4 digs. The team will be in action again on Tuesday, 9/25 when they match up with the Chargers of Providence at 5:45 in the CDS Main Gym.
Match Recap 9/18/2018 vs. Charlotte Country Day
In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the Lions took to their home court to challenge the Buccaneers of Charlotte Country Day. After four days away from the gym, the Lions struggled to get into a successful flow against their opponents and dropped three straight sets to suffer their first CISAA loss of the regular season. In spite of the disappointing result, the team had many exciting plays that provided highlights over the three sets. Olivia Futch had 9 impressive kills, 1 ace, 18 serve-receives and 7 digs, while Meg Hopkins contributed 10 assists, 1 block and 7 digs. Maddie Poole made 3 kills and 1 block, and Katie Hallenbeck put up 2 kills, 3 digs and 1 block for the Lions. The team will host Cannon School on Thursday, 9/20, starting at 5:45 in the CDS Main Gym.
Tournament Recap 9/7-9/8/2018 - Volley with the Knights
The Varsity Lions competed in the annual Volley with the Knights tournament hosted by North Raleigh Christian over the weekend. The team defeated Southern Wake and the JV team from N. Raleigh Christian, before losing to N. Raleigh's Varsity in pool play. In the first round, our Lions went on to a victory over Ravenscroft (25-22, 25-18), which advanced them to the quarterfinals of the tournament. As the #6 seed coming out of pool play, our girls faced the Cannon School Cougars. After winning the first set 25-22, Cannon took the second by five points, forcing the match to a third set. The Lions rallied to narrowly defeat the Cougars 16-14 in the third, and advanced to the semi-finals where they faced Marvin Ridge. The Mavericks of Marvin Ridge proved to be too much to handle, and our Lions took a 0-2 loss to finish the tournament. Senior, Meg Hopkins, was named to the All-Tournament team in recognition of her excellent efforts throughout the weekend event. Next up for the Lions is a home match vs Charlotte Latin on Tuesday, 9/11, starting at 5:45 in the Main Gym.
Match Recap 8/30/2018 vs. Wesleyan Christian
Thursday, August 30th was the home opener for our Varsity Lions as they welcomed the Trojans of Wesleyan Christian to the Covenant Day gym. Our team was hungry for a win and the Lions put on a great show for the home crowd as they took down the opponent in three straight sets (25-13, 25-18, 25-22.) Meg Hopkins put up 14 assists, 10 digs and 2 aces, and Morgan Stophel posted 10 digs, 10 serve-receives and 2 aces. Olivia Futch notched 9 kills, 2 aces and 6 digs, Katie Hallenbeck contributed 7 kills, 7 aces and 4 digs, while Maddie Poole nailed 5 kills for the Lions' victory.
Match Recap 8/28/2018 vs. Fort Mill HS
The Varsity Volleyball Lions played a non-conference match at Fort Mill HS to open up the regular season on Aug. 28th. After losing the first set by seven points, the girls rallied to grab the second set, 25-23. The Lions continued to fight for advantage but closed out the match with a 1-3 loss. Olivia Futch led the way with 11 kills and 5 aces, Katie Hallenbeck had 5 kills and 3 aces, and Meg Hopkins efforts yielded 13 assists and 7 digs. Morgan Stophel and Savannah DeCarlo each contributed 8 assists to the team totals.