Covenant pulls ultimate upset on opening night

One night. That's all it took for the Church League Volleyball tournament to prove why the regular season means very little once the bracket is set.

After spending nearly the entire summer atop the standings, the top-seeded Old Testament Athletes saw their championship hopes come to an abrupt end Tuesday night as Covenant Fellowship Church pulled off the tournament's biggest upset with a 25-17, 25-23 victory at McMinnville Church of God.

The No. 8 seed advanced to Thursday's semifinal after opening tournament play with a convincing 25-6, 25-14 victory over First Baptist Church.

Covenant, which spent much of the regular season finding itself on the wrong end of three-set thrillers, suddenly found its best volleyball when it mattered most. Behind another strong effort from Chris and Emma Madewell and a lineup that played with confidence from the opening serve, Covenant knocked off the league's regular-season champion and became the tournament's Cinderella.

The Old Testament Athletes entered the postseason at 8-1 after spending most of the summer setting the pace for the rest of the league, but their season came to an end in straight sets.

McMinnville Church of God also earned a measure of revenge in Tuesday's nightcap.

After falling to the Cross Denominators in a three-set thriller on opening night of the regular season, McMinnville flipped the script when the stakes were highest, earning a 25-22, 25-27, 15-9 victory to advance.

The third set belonged to McMinnville Church of God, which regrouped after dropping a tightly contested second set that featured clutch serving from Holly Palombo and big hitting from Justin Bouldin to even the match. McMinnville Church of God went up 8-1 and never looked back, controlling the deciding frame to eliminate another one of the top seeds in the league.

Earlier in the evening, Rolling Acres BIC advanced with a 25-18, 25-13 victory over Safe Harbor Church of God.

Thursday’s lineup is now clearer after the matchups. Rock Island Church of Christ will meet Rolling Acres BIC, while Westwood Church of Christ takes on Called to Serve, with the winners of those matchups sets to meet in the semifinals. In the other semifinals matchups, Tuesday’s big winners - Covenant Fellowship Church and McMinnville Church of God - will face off with a winner booking at ticket into the championship.

The finals are set for 9:15 p.m.