MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State saw their impressive conference run continue on Tuesday night at home against Cleveland State, sweeping the Lady Cougars 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-19).

The victory for Walters State was their fifth straight conference win as they improved to 5-1 in the conference and 8-8 overall. The Lady Senators have now won six of their last seven matches.

"Our defense looked pretty good," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said about Tuesday's performance. "We are getting better defensively. We had some good digs over the weekend and that carried over to tonight. We just need to keep that up."

It was yet another match for Walters State where they were shorthanded due to injuries. However, that hasn't slowed them down a bit as they have had other players step up and get meaningful reps.

"It's been great," Blaylock said about getting more players on the floor. "No one is ever going to complain about getting more players on the floor and getting them that experience. It's good for the freshman to get them some type of playing experience."

It was a quick start to the match on Tuesday night for Walters State as they broke out to a 7-2 lead early on. Cleveland State came back to tie the set at seven, but the Lady Senators rallied for six straight points to force a Cleveland State timeout. During the run, Bella Webb had a kill and an ace.

Walters State scored one more point after the timeout before Cleveland State ended the 7-0 run, but the lead was large enough as the Lady Senators cruised to a 25-16 first set win. Raenah Barton closed the set out with a kill.

In set two, Walters State got down 2-0 to start before scoring six straight, with an ace from Jordan Moore and kill from Sidney Keck, and forced a Lady Cougars timeout.

Walters State continued the onslaught following the timeout and got the lead to 10-4 before Cleveland State fought back and made it 10-9. From there, the two teams battled back and forth before three straight points made it 22-16 Walters State and forced another timeout. The Lady Senators scored two more points following the timeout and then closed out the set 25-17.

In set two, Keck was a vital part of the offense with multiple kills at key moments.

"Sidney did great," Blaylock said. "She came out and was really aggressive. We've been really talking to the middle's about being aggressive in their placement and in their swing, and she did exactly what she was supposed to do. She did a really good job."

In set three, it was Cleveland State who came out quick with an early 5-1 lead. The Lady Senators would settle down and eventually tied the set at eight on a Mattison Rowland block. 

The set would see just one more tie, at 11-11, before Walters State took control. The lead grew to 23-15 before the Lady Senators were able to close out the match with a 25-19 set three win.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Thursday as they take on Montreat College JV on the road. That match is scheduled to start at 6:30.

For Blaylock, she wants to see her team continue to get better offensively.

"We need to work on not tipping and rolling as much," Blaylock said. "I think offensively we get a little lethargic at times and put the ball right at the defense. We need to work on our placement and just attacking the ball."

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics