CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Having already laid claim to at least a share of its second straight Tennessee Community College Athletic Association regular season volleyball title entering Tuesday night's Region VII finale against Chattanooga State, the Walters State Lady Senators weren't satisfied.
Instead, the Lady Senators, who cracked the NJCAA Division II rankings this week for the first time this season at No. 25, strolled into the Lookout City and left with their ninth straight sweep and an undefeated TCCAA title with a 25-21, 25-13 and 26-24 victory over the Lady Tigers on their home floor.
The win was the ninth straight for Walters State and Coach Megan Blaylock, as the Lady Senators have also won 13 of their last 15 matches to improve to 18-7 overall and finish 4-0 in TCCAA play.
The loss ended a five-match winning streak for Chattanooga State, as the Lady Tigers fell to 11-7 overall and finished 2-2 in region action. Chattanooga State has won nine of its last 11 matches dating back to Sept. 7, with both losses coming against Walters State.
The Lady Senators posted 35 kills in the match, led by Kaley Muncy with a dozen, Mckenzie Jenkins with 9 and Micayla Vallie with 8 in the win. Sydney Hurd dished out 17 assists and Courtney Dotson added 14, while the team recorded 62 digs in the contest, led by Lexi Wakefield with 15. Hayley Wolfe added 12 digs, Vallie had 111 and Hurd had 8, while Muncy added a pair of blocks in the victory.
The Lady Senators will put their winning streak on the line Saturday in a home doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., as it will be sophomore day. Walters State will face Snead State, the last team to defeat the Lady Senators on Sept. 22, in the opening match before taking on Spartanburg Methodist in the nightcap at 5 p.m. WSCC has split with Spartanburg, falling in five sets on the road on Aug. 25 before winning in four sets in a tri-match at Wake Technical College on Sept. 7.
This year's sophomore class will play its final home matches Saturday. Jenkins, Wolfe, Muncy, Hurd, Vallie and Brooklyn Ireson are the sophomores, and they have helped the Lady Senators win 40 matches in the past two seasons.