MORRISTOWN, TN – With their backs against the wall, No. 13 Walters State rose up to the challenge on Saturday afternoon.
Down two sets to one against Southwest Virginia, the Lady Senators scored the first 11 points of the fourth set to run away with it and tie the match up. Then, trailing 10-5 in the fifth, Walters State battled back again and eventually grabbed a 3-2 (23-25, 25-8, 22-25, 25-9, 16-14) win over the Flying Eagles .
With the win, the Lady Senators improved to 6-1 on the season and ran their winning streak to six.
"We struggled at times today but were able to battle back and overcome the deficit," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said. "We just need to work on consistency and play like we did in the second and fourth sets at all times. We're on the road next week, so we'll get back to practice and continue to try and improve."
After dropping the opening set of the match, Walters State came out gunning in set number two. The Lady Senators built a 9-2 lead after kills by Veda Barton, Rylee Haynie and Catherine Sweeney and a block by Barton.
Barton added another kill and Sweeney had a block to make things 11-4, and kills by Haynie and Alyssa Campbell, with an ace by Emma Miller sandwiched in between, made it 15-5. Miller had one more ace to make it 17-5, and it was 18-5 after a kill by Annah Cate Hyatt. Walters State closed things out from there, as Lauren Mims had two kills to give them a 25-8 set victory.
Walters State tried to carry that momentum into the third set, but Southwest Virginia fought back. The two teams were tied at seven, but Southwest Virginia broke out to a 13-9 advantage. The Lady Senators tied the set at 13, thanks to an ace by Barton, but Southwest went back ahead 17-14.
Again, Walters State tied the set, this time at 17, after kills by Haynie and Campbell. The two teams tied at 18 and 19, but Southwest Virginia closed strong to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
However, Walters State came out on fire in the fourth set. With Hyatt serving, the Lady Senators scored the first 11 points. Hyatt had four aces during the run, including back-to-back-to-back aces at one point. Haynie had a kill and a block during that stretch, as well.
Southwest Virginia finally broke the hot start with a point, but the Lady Senators scored three more to go up 14-1. It was 16-3 after kills by Sweeney and Barton and 21-4 after kills by Finley Surber and Campbell and an ace by Miller. The Lady Senators never let their foot off the gas and tied the match with a 25-9 set win.
In the fifth, Southwest Virginia got up 3-1 before a kill by Haynie tied things at three. Southwest Virginia scored the next five points, though, and then went ahead 10-5. Mims got Walters State back on track with a kill and then an error, an ace by Sydney Bjornstad, a block by Campbell, a kill by Haynie and a block by Haynie put the Lady Senators up 11-10.
The two teams remained close, tying at 11, 12 and 13. Southwest Virginia scored to break the tie and serve for match point, but the Lady Senators fought it off to make it 14-14. Sweeney recorded a block to give Walters State match point, and Surber finished things off with a kill.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday, September 11, at Campbellsville University. The Lady Senators will play Lindsey Wilson JV at 3 p.m. and Campbellsville University JV at 5 p.m.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics
