MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 20 Walters State could not capitalize on a third set win on Saturday afternoon against Itawamba Community College, falling to the Indians 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20) to conclude the Walters State Invitational.
With the loss, the Lady Senators fall to 0-3 to start the season, two of those losses coming to Itawamba. While it's not the start that Walters State coach Megan Blaylock wanted, she is glad they were able to face some tough competition early on.
"I think it's great," Blaylock said. "I think in a month from now, this will have been perfect for us. The best thing we could've done for our opening weekend is play good competition. It shows you all your weaknesses and gives you things to work on for the next few weeks."
In their first two matches yesterday, Walters State struggled with consistency as they would look to have pulled away in a set only for the opposition to come back and make it close or take the set.
On Saturday though, the Lady Senators were much better all-around as the young team continues to get comfortable with each other on the court.
"Our defense was much, much better today," Blaylock said. "Our defense, passing and servicing were all much better. I thought we were more aggressive on net, attacking wise. That's all I really asked them to do after yesterday. It definitely looked better today."
Specifically, Blaylock noted that Lydia Buchanan and Mercedes Collins stood out from the rest but that the team as a whole played well.
In set one, it was Itawamba who got off to a quick start as they jumped out 4-1. The Lady Senators were not phased though and eventually took a 6-5 lead on a kill from Mackenzie Sweigart.
Walters State would up their lead to 10-7 from there and then 14-9 after a block by Raenah Barton and Jordan Moore. That forced a timeout by the Indians.
The Lady Senators kept the lead for the next few points until Itawamba went on a 9-0 run at 21-16 to close out the first set.
Set two saw more of the same from Itawamba as they led for the entirety of the set on their way to a 25-19 win. The Lady Senators got the lead down to 14-12 after a block by Moore, but the Indians kept pushing and comfortably took the set.
Needing a win to keep the match alive, the Lady Senators came out in set three with a lot of energy. Walters State scored the first two points of the set and this time they led all the way through for the set victory.
Itawamba got it to 10-9, but the Lady Senators responded with a kill by Ashtan Vance, two straight aces from Buchanan and a block by Moore. Walters State would up their lead to seven before easily closing the set out.
"I think we just have been having a slow start in matches (on what changed in the third set)," Blaylock said. "The skill was much better. We had a discussion about playing with more effort and that we had nothing left to lose. I think they took it to heart, and we took that set."
However, the match would end in set four as Itawamba once again took control early and finished the Lady Senators off with a 25-20 win.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action at home on Tuesday as they host Roane State for their first conference match of the season. The match is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
"We're going to touch on our defense more to prepare for Tuesday," Blaylock said. "We're struggling a bit with our tip defense behind the block. And I think we're going to work on starting the way we are finishing. Just trying to work on our energy coming out of the gate and play really, really hard."
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics