PETERSBURG, VA – No. 13 Walters State opened up the season on Tuesday afternoon with a hard fought loss to No. 8 Richard Bland, before bouncing back with a sweep of Patrick & Henry. The Lady Senators fell 3-1(25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22) to Richard Bland, but won 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-12) over Patrick & Henry.

With the split, the Lady Senators moved to 1-1 on the season. 

No. 8 Richard Bland 3, No. 13 Walters State 1 (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22)

In match number one of the day, Walters State went toe-to-toe for four sets with No. 8 Richard Bland but came up short. 

The Lady Senators were led by Lauren Mims with 10 kills, 10 digs and four blocks. Other contributors for Walters State were Payton Brown with 15 digs and five assists, Olivia Brown with 15 digs and 10 assists, Emma Miller with 12 digs and five assists, Alyssa Campbell with nine blocks and four kills, Veda Barton with six blocks and six kills, Catherine Sweeney with five blocks and eight kills and Annah Cate Hyatt with seven assists and three blocks. As a team, Walters State had five aces. 

In the first set, Walters State scored the first two points of the match, but Richard Bland answered with six straight. The Lady Senators scored four straight of their own, Finley Surber and Barton had kills during the run while Mims had an ace, to tie the set at six. 

The two teams tied at seven, eight and nine before Richard Bland went on a run and grabbed a 15-10 advantage. Rylee Haynie had a kill and Mims a block to break the run, but Richard Bland kept coming and went up 18-12. 

However, Walters State would not go away and scored four straight to make it a two-point lead for Richard Bland. During that stretch, Mims had a kill. Richard Bland rallied from there to go up 24-20 and had set point. The Lady Senators scored three straight, Haynie and Campbell had kills, but Richard Bland got a point to take a 25-23 first set victory.

In set two, Walters State started strong again as a Mims kill and Haynie block pushed them out to a 3-0 lead. Richard Bland would score six straight after, but Walters State tied the match at six with three straight. The Statesmen would take a small lead from there and hold it, until a Haynie kill and Barton kill tied things at 10. 

The set would go back-and-forth and tie at 13, but Walters State got back-to-back kills by Barton and Mims to go up 16-13. The Lady Senators kept their three-point lead at 18-15 thanks to a kill by Mims and a block by Hyatt, but Richard Bland tied things up. The teams would battle from there, but the Statesmen took the set 25-22. 

Needing a third-set win to stay alive, Walters State got it. For the third straight set, the Lady Senators started strong with a Sweeney kill and Barton block. The set lead would jump to 4-1 on back-to-back kills by Barton and Haynie, but Richard Bland eventually tied the set at six and seven.

From there, Walters State kept pushing and went up 12-8. The lead would drop at times, and the set was even tied at 15, but the Lady Senators failed to let Richard Bland take the lead back. Barton, Campbell, Mims and Sweeney all had kills in the latter part of the set, with Sweeney's kill closing out a 25-21 set victory. 

Once again, Walters State came out firing in set four with a Sweeney kill and Barton block. The two teams would then tie at three, five, seven, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17. Richard Bland broke the run with three straight points and, while Walters State cut the lead to one a couple times on Campbell kills, Richard Bland would hang on to take the set and match. 

No. 13 Walters State 3, Patrick & Henry 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-12)

In match number two of the day, the Lady Senators started slow but came on quick and swept Patrick & Henry.

Leading the way for Walters State were Mims with nine digs, six kills and two aces and Sweeney with five kills, two blocks and two aces. Other contributors Sydney Bjornstad with 16 digs, Haynie with nine kills and two blocks, Campbell with six kills and two blocks, Olivia Brown with two aces and 12 assists, Hyatt with 11 assists and seven digs and Miller with 10 assists. 

Patrick & Henry led in the opening set 8-4, before Walters State called timeout and reset. The lead stayed at four at 10-6, but the Lady Senators rallied off four straight points, thanks to a kill and two aces by Sweeney, to tie the set.

Patrick & Henry regained the lead and held it until Campbell had a kill to tie things at 15. The Lady Senators scored six of the next seven points, Mims had two aces, to build a comfortable lead they would not relinquish on their way to a 25-18 set win.

In the second set, Patrick & Henry won the first point before Walters State scored the next four. The lead continued to grow from there, getting to 13-4 after a Barton kill. 16-10 was the closest Patrick & Henry could get, as Walters State steamrolled to the 25-12 set win. 

In the final set, Walters State scored the first six points to gain control. During that run, Olivia Brown had an ace and Campbell, Surber and Haynie each had kills. Campbell and Haynie would trade kills all throughout the set, as Walters State led 17-9 before eventually closing things out at 25-12. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on the road on Saturday at Southwest Virginia. The Lady Senators play Southwest Virginia at 11 a.m. and USC Lancaster at 1 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics