Lady Senators fall to Sauk Valley in first ever NJCAA Tournament match

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – No. 7 Walters State fell behind early and could never catch back up as they fell in their first ever NJCAA DII NJCAA Tournament matchup to No. 10 Sauk Valley, 3-0 (25-13,25-16,25-19).  

The Lady Senators will now take on Terra State on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in an elimination game.  

Walters State was led in the match by Olivia Oxendine with eight kills while Lydia Buchanan had five kills and 15 assists. Taylor Tigue had seven assists as well while Jania Hill had five kills and Devyn Davis and Mackenzie Sweigart each had four kills.  

Aubrey Cobb led the team with seven digs while Amanda Singleton had five.  

As a team, Walters State had a kill percentage of just 14.6% while Sauk Valley had a kill percentage of 41%.  

It was a slow start for Walters State in set one as Sauk Valley scored the first four points of the match. The Lady Senators finally got on the board with a kill from Oxendine. Walters State would hang around for a bit longer as an Oxendine kill made it 10-7. But after that, Sauk Valley took control and allowed just six more points from the Lady Senators and closed out the set with a 25-13 win.  

Set two saw more intensity from the Lady Senators at the beginning of the set. Walters State took their first lead of the match at 2-1 in set two on a kill from Buchanan and had it tied three before Sauk Valley rallied off five straight points. After the Lady Senators rallied off a few more points, Sauk Valley took control again and had it at 20-10. While Walters State tried to rally and got the lead down to seven, it was too little, too late as Sauk Valley took the set 25-16.  

With their backs against the wall, Walters State finally made a push in set three. The Lady Senators took advantage of some Sauk Valley errors and went up 8-3 early. However, Sauk Valley wouldn't go away and rallied off seven straight points to go up 10-8. Walters State would hang around for the majority of the set, never letting the lead get above four until Sauk Valley scored the final four points to take the set and match.  

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics