SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Walters State volleyball team opened its season with a four-match tournament in the Palmetto State over the weekend, picking up a win while taking home three losses against tough competition in the Spartanburg Methodist College Invitational.
The Lady Senators (1-3) opened the weekend with a pair of losses on Friday, falling in four sets to St. John's River before taking a three-set loss against Wallace State. On Saturday, Walters State picked up its first win by defeating Bryant & Stratton in straight sets before losing a heartbreaker to the host Lady Pioneers in five sets.
In the opening match of the season, the Lady Senators claimed a 25-20 win in the first set before dropping the next three by the scores of 25-16, 25-9 and 25-18 to lose the match.
Micayla Vallie led WSCC with nine kills while adding 17 digs in the contest, while Kaley Muncy had seven kills, Courtney Dotson tallied 12 assists and Sydney Hurd had 10 assists. Brooklyn Ireson led the squad with 21 digs, and Hayley Wolfe added 17 digs in the loss.
In the second match on Friday, the Lady Senators fell to national powerhouse Wallace State by scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-16. Muncy led the way with 10 kills in the defeat, while Dotson dished out 10 assists, Wolfe totaled 23 digs and Vallie had 11 digs in the match.
In Saturday's opener, Walters State wasted little time getting its first win of the season by disposing of Bryant & Stratton in three sets (25-18, 25-19 and 25-13). Muncy smacked nine kills in the win, while Dotson added 10 assists and eight digs, Vallie led the team with 13 digs and Wolfe added 11 digs in the victory.
The nightcap saw the Lady Senators take the opening game 26-24 before dropping the next two by the scores of 25-16 and 25-19 before WSCC rallied from behind in the fourth game to win it 25-23 and force a fifth game. Walters State led late in the fifth and appeared on its way to a split of the weekend, but the Lady Pioneers scored the final four points to win the match with a 15-13 win in the fifth frame.
Vallie had 14 kills and 20 digs in the contest, while Muncy added nine kills and five blocks. Dotson chipped in 20 assists and 16 digs, while Hurd had 16 assists and 10 digs. Wolfe added 19 digs and Lexi Wakefield tallied 16 digs in the defeat.
Walters State will be back in action Tuesday afternoon with a tri-match held at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, North Carolina. The Lady Senators will take on the homestanding Red Hawks at 3 p.m. before facing Spartanburg Methodist once again at 4:30 p.m.