No. 23 Walters State win home opener over Southwest Virginia, Campbellsville JV

MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 23 Walters State upped their win streak to four matches on Tuesday, defeating Southwest Virginia 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 24-26, 25-15) and Campbellsville University JV 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-10).

With the wins, the Lady Senators improved to 4-4 on the season. 

No. 23 Walters State 3, Southwest Virginia 1 (25-19, 25-22, 24-26, 25-15)

In match one of the day, the Lady Senators topped Southwest Virginia for the second time in a week.

Things started quick for Walters State in the opening set as an ace by Trudi Aiken and two kills from Veda Barton helped build a 4-1 lead. Southwest Virginia tied the set up at seven, and the two teams remained deadlocked for the next few points before another ace by Aiken and a kill by Preslee Quertermous made it 11-9. It was soon 14-10 after kills by Kara Coggins and Isabelle Brickey and an ace by Chloe Redwine, and the lead would expand to 16-11 a few points later.

Walters State continued to hold a comfortable lead until Southwest Virginia cut it to one at 19-18, but back-to-back kills by Quertermous got Walters State back on the track. Back-to-back aces by Aiken ended the set at 25-19 in favor of the Lady Senators. 

Set two was much of the same to start for Walters State as they scored the first four points thanks to two kills from Coggins and a kill by Veda Barton. The Lady Senators continued to keep control as Brickey picked up two more kills, and Davanie Tarleton had a kill to make it 11-4. A couple blocks from Tarleton and two kills from Barton made it 17-12, but Southwest Virginia cut it to 19-17. A kill by Tarleton got Walters State back on track, and the Lady Senators would eventually close the set out at 25-22. 

Set three was tight throughout. The two teams were tied at one, two, four and six before Southwest Virginia took a 9-6 lead. Walters State eventually tied the set back up at 10 and 11 on kills from Quertermous and Coggins, and a block by Barton gave Walters State a 14-13. 

However, the Lady Senators could not pull away and Southwest Virginia tied the set at 17. Looking for a response, Walters State got it with five straight points. Tarleton had two kills and a block during the run while Barton had a kill to make it 22-17. Unfortunately for Walters State, Southwest Virginia tied the set up with five straight points and had set point at 24-23. Walters State kept the set going with a kill from Aiken, but Southwest Virginia scored the final two points to take the set. 

The final set was tight early before Walters State took control at 11-7 on two blocks by Barton. The lead ballooned to 15-8 on a kill from Barton and block from Tarleton, and it was 19-8 after two aces by Mykanna McMahon and a kill by Tarleton. Walters State was never challenged after and ended the match on a kill by Chloe Redwine. 

No. 23 Walters State 3, Campbellsville University JV 0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-10)

In match number two of the day, Walters State fought off a close first set and blew Campbellsville JV out in the final two sets. 

Campbellsville led the opening set, but Walters State tied things up at 10 on a Brickey ace. Walters State scored three more points following the ace and then led 14-11 after a Tarleton kill. The lead remained at three for the rest of the set until the Lady Senators closed it out at 25-21. Late in the set, Brickey had two kills while Barton, Tarleton and Coggins each had kills. 

Set two was also close to start, and it was 13-12 before Barton had a kill and Jordan had back-to-back aces to make it 17-12. The lead grew to 20-12 following another ace from Jordan, and it was 21-13 after a kill from Barton. The Lady Senators closed the set out at 25-15 thanks to a block by Tarleton and an ace from Brickey.

The final set, Walters State controlled from the start. At 5-4, the Lady Senators rallied off 15 of the next 16 points to go up 20-5. During the run, Jordan had yet another ace while Barton had three aces. Barton also had a kill, as did Tarleton and Brickey. Brickey and Tarleton had two more kills before Quertermous ended the match with a kill. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action next Tuesday on the road at Roane State. The match is set for 6 pm ET.