PETERSBURG, VA – Resilience.
That's what No. 18 Walters State showed on Friday afternoon in the Southeast B District Volleyball Championship.
Taking on Cleveland Community College, the Lady Senators came out the gate slow and dropped the first set. After taking the second set, Walters State fell behind early and could not complete an almost remarkable comeback in set three, putting the Lady Senators on the brink of elimination.
The Lady Senators could have given in and seen a successful season come to an end.
However, quitting isn't in their DNA.
Walters State bounced back with an emphatic fourth set win. In the fifth set, Cleveland had set point but Walters State fought it off. The Lady Senators then had set point at 16-15, and Lauren Mims placed a serve just inside the end line for an ace and a 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-11, 17-15) win for Walters State.
With the victory, the Lady Senators improved to 26-5 on the season and advanced to the NJCAA DII Volleyball Championship in Cedar Rapids, IA from November 20-23. It's the third time the Lady Senators have advanced to the Championships and the second straight year.
"They played with their heart," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said. "After that first set, it was just us playing with our heart. We started off slow, it was a long trip over here yesterday and you could tell it wore us out a little bit. We pulled it out and did it in very exciting fashion."
That slow start Blaylock referred to saw Walters State grab a 12-7 lead in the opening set thanks to kills from Alyssa Campbell and Veda Barton and an ace from Payton Brown but lose 16 of the next 19 points. The Lady Senators battled back but dropped the set, 25-19.
In the second set, the two teams battled close throughout. Tied at 12, Walters State got some separation thanks to a kill by Mims, a block by Campbell, a block by Catherine Sweeney and an ace by Annah Cate Hyatt that made it 16-12.
Cleveland answered back and made it 19-18, but a block and kill by Finley Surber, a block by Sweeney and an ace by Sydney Bjornstad gave the Lady Senators set point. Cleveland won the next three points, but Rylee Haynie had a block that won the set 25-22.
The third set started less than ideal for Walters State, falling behind 15-4. Walters State closed the gap to 16-12 on three kills from Surber, a kill from Campbell and an ace by Sweeney. Cleveland regained control with the next four points, but Walters State slowly made it a one-point contest at 22-21 thanks to two kills and a block from Haynie, a kill from Barton and a kill from Mims. Walters State then tied the set at 23 on a kill from Mims and block from Barton, but Cleveland scored the final two points to go up 2-1 in the match.
In the fourth set, the Lady Senators lost three of the first four points before taking over. Walters State got a kill and a block from Barton, a kill from Mims, an ace from Emma Miller, a block by Sweeney, an ace by Mims, two kills from Sweeney, a kill from Haynie and back-to-back kills from Campbell that made it 16-6.
The Lady Senators kept the pressure, thanks to two blocks from Haynie, and took the set, 25-11, to send that match to a deciding fifth set.
"When your back is against the wall, you either have to find a way or it's done," Blaylock said about the fourth set. "I told them that we had to fight for it or it was over, and they took it and fought."
The fifth set was close throughout, The Lady Senators jumped ahead 5-3 on three kills from Mims, a kill from Haynie and another ace by Miller. Cleveland scored the next three points to take the lead, but Walters State led 8-6 at the halfway point.
After switching sides, Cleveland tied things at eight but Walters State got kills from Surber and Haynie to regain the two-point lead. Again, the Yetis scored two straight to even it up. The two teams tied at 10, 11, 12 and 13 before Cleveland scored to grab set point.
Needing a point to stay alive, the Lady Senators went to their leader in Mims, and she tipped a ball over the net that found the floor. The Lady Senators then had set point at 15-14, but Cleveland fought it off. Walters State got set point again at 16-15, and Mims served her ace to win the set, the match and the Southeast B District Championship for the second straight year.
"As a coach, it means everything," Blaylock said. "We've never won back-to-back years. Back-to-back says a lot about our sophomores and the way that they lead. They brought that experience into the game, and I think that's what got us over the finish line."
Walters State will find out their seed and opponent on Wednesday, November 13, at 2 p.m. on the NJCAA DII Volleyball Championship Selection Show.
"I'm looking forward to next week and seeing where we are seeded and who we are playing," Blaylock said. "I think we can compete against the best of them, and I am looking forward to it."
