CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – No. 18 Walters State won their first match in program history at the NJCAA DII Volleyball National Championship on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over No. 15 Lansing (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) before falling 3-1 (25-11, 25-13, 23-25, 25-16) to No. 2 Scottsdale in the nightcap. 

With the split, Walters State moved to 26-8 on the season. The Lady Senators will play in an elimination match on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET against No. 16 Rock Valley. 

Against No. 15 Lansing, the Lady Senators had a balanced attack. Mattie Davis and Catherine Sweeney each had six kills, while Alyssa Campbell and Maddie Rockrohr had five each. Lauren Mims and 14 digs, while Jaci Drinnon had 19 digs. Oliva Brown had 14 assists, while Allison Singleton had 12. Brown also had five aces, while Campbell had three.

It was a strong start for Walters State in the opening set as they took a 4-3 lead on a Campbell ace and never trailed again. The closest the lead would get was 10-9, but Walters State scored five of the next six points to reassert themselves. Late in the set, the Lady Senators used a handful of Davis kills to close things out at 25-20.

The second set was similar as Lansing led again, but Walters State took an 11-10 lead and would never trail again. The Lady Senators eventually got the lead to 19-13 on an ace by Singleton and then withstood a late Lansing rally to take the second set, 25-20. 

In the final set, Walters State did just enough to secure the victory. Lansing trailed just 20-17 late in the set, but the Lady Senators rallied off the final five points to win the set and match. 

Against Scottsdale, Campbell had 16 kills while Mims added 11 and 13 digs. Drinnon led the team with 27 digs, while Finley Surber and Sweeney each had five kills. Brown had 24 assists and 10 digs. The Lady Senators had nine aces as a team, with Brown leading the way with four. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics