MORRISTOWN, TN – Down 8-4 in the second set to Roane State, Walters State needed a spark after winning the first set on Thursday evening.
Maddie Rockrohr provided that spark and then some.
Coming out of a timeout, Rockrohr had five kills in six points as Walters State took control back and rolled from there, sweeping Roane State 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-20).
"She's a dog," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said about Rockrohr. "If I ever need someone to go up and try and score, I'm going to her. She's so consistent, and I am really, really excited to see her continue to develop. She's playing incredible right now."
Already having swept Roane State earlier in the season, Walters State knew the gameplan to take down the Lady Raiders. On Thursday, the Lady Senators stuck to that gameplan and took care of business from start to finish.
"I think we did really well," Blaylock said. "We came in with a gameplan, and the girls stuck to the gameplan. It was effective. I am really, really proud of the girls for implementing everything that we have been practicing."
Along with Rockrohr, Mackenzie Sweigart and Jordan Moore were their normal selves as they dominated at the net.
For Blaylock, she has had success over the past few years with players in the middle. However, now she has a whole front row to work with in Sweigart, Moore, Rockrohr and a handful of others.
"I love being able to have a balanced offense," Blaylock said. "It hasn't always been like that. It's been a great thing this year to be able to spread out the offense between those three and a couple of more."
After the two teams battled for the first few points of the first set, Walters State took the lead at 3-2 and never trailed from there. The match was tied at 10 and 11, however, Walters State went up 14-11 on two kills from Rockrohr and a kill from Sweigart.
Up 19-17, Walters State scored the final six points of the set, as Hannah Freeman had two aces during the run, and the Lady Senators were up 1-0.
In set two, Walters State got up 2-0 before Roane State showed life and went up 8-4 to force a Walters State timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Rockrohr had two kills to make it 8-7. The Lady Senators tied the match on the next point, and Rockrohr gave them an 11-8 lead with three straight kills.
The Lady Senators built the lead to 21-15 on a block and handful of kills from Sweigart and held on late for a 25-19 set two victory. Takiya Curry had multiple kills late in the set, as well.
In the final set, Roane State got up early again, but Walters State tied it at six. The Lady Senators took the lead until the Lady Raiders tied it at 12, 13 and 14. Roane State took the lead and went up 18-16 before Moore had two kills and Rockrohr a kill to make it 20-18 in favor of Walters State.
Roane State scored twice more in the set but a Swigart ace and Sidney Keck kill ended the set and match at 25-20.
Up Next:
Walters State is quickly back in action on Friday as they travel to participate in the Wallace State Fall Bash. The Lady Senators have two matches on Friday, against Itawamba at 4 p.m. and Spartanburg Methodist at 8 p.m.
Walters State will play Vincennes University at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Wallace State, ranked No. 20 in DI, at 12 p.m.
"I just want us to work on continued consistency from the beginning of the set till the end of the set," Blaylock said. "We've been struggling with that. We did well with that tonight, so we need to keep it going."
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics