MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Walters State made quick work of visiting Covenant College's junior varsity volleyball team Monday night by sweeping past the Scots in dominating fashion inside 'Z' Buda Gymnasium and Assembly Hall.
The Lady Senators (13-7) used a 7-0 run in the opening set to break away for a 25-14 victory, while Courtney Dotson served up 10 straight points to open the second game en route to a 25-5 win. Walters State scored the first three points and 17 of the first 18 tallies in the third game and eventually rolled to a 25-5 win to close the match.
"I was happy to see our team come out and play well after a successful weekend," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said. "We kept the momentum going, and we didn't let up when we got the lead tonight. That was something I was particularly proud of because we didn't allow (Covenant) to get any kind of momentum or surge against us."
Less than a week after sweeping the Scots on the road, the Lady Senators never trailed in the match, and in fact, it was only tied once in the three sets played, and that was 1-1 in the first game.
Covenant did keep it close for a while in the opening game, trailing 9-8 before Walters State put together its big run. Micayla Vallie served up an ace before McKenzie Jenkins tallied a block and a kill in a 7-0 spurt to allow the Lady Senators to double the lead to 16-8. Jenkins added a pair of kills before Kaley muncy notched a kill, Lexi Wakefield served an ace and Vallie closed the set with a kill for a 25-14 victory.
Dotson served 10 straight points to begin the second game, and the visitors could not muster back-to-back points in the set. Vallie and Olivia Kent alternated kills and blocks for the home team to make it an 18-4 lead, and Vallie and Hayley Wolfe both served up a pair of aces in the closing moments to help secure a 25-5 win.
The third game was more of the same from the second frame, as Muncy smacked a kill to open the scoring and Kinsley Wykle served up 13 straight points in a 17-1 opening run to take control of the set. Wykle had three aces in the stretch, and Jayla Rolle had three aces in a closing 6-0 run to end the set and the match with another 25-5 win.
Muncy led the way with eight kills in the win, while Jenkins added six kills and Vallie tallied five. Dotson dished out 12 assists and Sydney Hurd added nine assists, while Dotson and Vallie both had six digs in the contest. WSCC served 16 aces in the win, including four apiece from Rolle and Vallie, three from Wykle and two each from Wolfe and Wakefield. Jenkins also blocked two shots in the victory.
The Lady Senators will look to keep their unblemished home record intact Thursday evening when they welcome Montreat to 'Z' Buda Gymnasium and Assembly Hall. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
Matt Daniels