MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 14 Walters State started fast on their way to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-21) sweep of Cleveland Community College Wednesday night.
With the win, the Lady Senators improved to 14-3 overall and remained unbeaten at home at 6-0.
"I thought we started really well tonight," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said. "We were a little sluggish in that second set, but I was proud of us for finishing it off. We're going to work on our serve-receive before Friday and look to close out matches better."
Wednesday was also Alumni Night with around 20 former Lady Senators returning and playing a match afterward.
In the opening set, Cleveland led 4-2 before Walters State took over. Veda Barton tied the set with back-to-back kills, before Finley Surber had a kill to give the Lady Senators the advantage. Cleveland tied the set one more time at 5-5, but Walters State scored six straight after. Emma Miller had two aces during the run, while Catherine Sweeney had a kill.
After that, the Lady Senators were never really threatened. Two kills and a block from Lauren Mims made it 17-8 and kills by Annah Cate Hyatt, Barton and Sweeney made it 20-11. Barton closed out the set at 25-12 with a thunderous block.
In set two, Walters State scored the first three points on kills by Sweeney and Surber and an ace by Mims. Sweeney had a massive kill to make things 8-5 and two more kills soon after to make it 15-8.
However, Cleveland fought back into the set and tied it at 17-17. The Lady Senators regained control with five straight points, as Sweeney and Mims had kills and Hyatt a block. Cleveland remained close, but a kill by Barton and ace by Mims closed the set out at 25-20.
The final set was more of the same as Walters State started quick with the first three points. The two teams battled from there, tying at 13 and 14 before Cleveland grabbed a two-point advantage at 17-15. Following a Walters State timeout, Surber tied things up with a kill before Miller had an ace for the lead.
The Lady Senators scored three more points after Miller's ace to extend the lead to 21-17. From there, Mims had two more kills and Alyssa Campbell had a kill as the Lady Senators closed things outs with a 25-21 set three win.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action on Friday, traveling to take on Chattanooga State at 6:30 p.m.
