Lady Senators go 1-2 in Walters State Invitational 

MORRISTOWN, TN – The Walters State volleyball team hosted the Walters State Invitational on Friday, going 1-2. The Lady Senators lost 3-1 to Monroe University (25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19) and No. 23 Lurleen B. Wallace (25-21, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21) but also picked up a 3-0 victory over USC Salkehatchie (25-9, 25-8, 25-13).

With the results, the Lady Senators moved to 11-13 on the season. 

Monroe University 3, Walters State 1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19)

In the opening match of the day, the Lady Senators played well but fell to a talented Monroe team. 

The Lady Senators scored the first two points of the opening set on kills from Veda Barton and Kara Coggins, but Monroe responded with 10 in-a-row to go up 10-2. Walters State continued to fight in the set, cutting it to 12-6 on a kill by Isabelle Brickey and 15-11 following a block from Barton. However, the Lady Senators could not overcome the early deficit and fell, 25-17.

Set two saw Monroe go up 10-6 before Walters State rallied with three straight points on kills from Coggins and Barton and an ace from Payton Brown. Monroe recovered and went up 14-11, but Walters State scored four straight to take the lead. Monroe tied the set at 15, but Walters State continued to charge with three more points. The lead was 20-17 following a kill by Madison Haynie, but Monroe scored the next two points to cut the lead to one. 

Not deterred, the Lady Senators got two big kills from Coggins and pulled out a 25-21 set two win. 

In set three, Walters State went up 4-1 thanks to two more kills from Coggins and aces from Annah Cate Hyatt and Brown. The two teams were then tied at seven, eight, nine and 10 before Monroe scored four straight. The lead grew to 18-12 and was then 23-15 before the Lady Senators showed some fight late. Walters State scored four straight to make it 23-19 and then had it at 24-21 before Monroe scored to win the set.

The final set was close early before Monroe went up 14-6. The lead was 16-8 when Walters State scored four straight on kills from Barton and a block by Davanie Tarleton. The lead continued to dwindle and was 17-13 after a kill by Tarleton, and the Lady Senators rallied off four more points and tied things at 17 when Barton served an ace.

The two teams tied at 18 after, but Monroe regained control and scored seven of the final eight points to win the set and the match. 

Walters State 3, USC Salkehatchie 0 (25-9, 25-8, 25-13)

Match two of the day for Walters State ended in a sweep, as the Lady Senators easily dispatched of USC Salkehatchie.

In the opening set, the Lady Senators scored nine straight points at 8-5 to break open a close set. During the run, Coggins had two blocks and a kill while Barton had a kill and Tarleton an ace. From there, Coggins and Barton each picked up kills, and Walters State closed the opening set out at 25-9.

The Lady Senators carried that momentum into set two, and Walters State scored the first 11 points. Barton had two kills during the run, and Hyatt had back-to-back aces. Salkehatchie broke the run with a point, but Walters State scored three more to go up 14-1. The lead was 18-3 after back-to-back kills by Brickey and 20-4 after another kill from Brickey and a kill by Haynie. Hyatt picked up two kills and an ace later in the set, and a kill by Coggins won the set for the Lady Senators at 25-8.

The final set saw the two teams tied at one, two, three, and seven before Walters State scored three in-a-row to grab the lead. The Lady Senators took control soon after that, and Lilabeth Jordan served an ace to make it 17-10. Barton had one more ace to cap off her impressive performance, and kills from Haynie and Tarleton helped close the set and match out at 25-13. 

No. 23 Lurleen B. Wallace 3, Walters State 1 (25-21, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21)

The third match of the day was another competitive one, but the Lady Senators were unable to force a fifth set and fell in four. 

In the opening set, there was very little separation early. Haynie had back-to-back kills that cut a Lurleen B. Wallace lead to 8-7, and Coggins had a kill that tied the teams at 10. However, at 13-12 in favor of the Saints, Lurleen B. Wallace scored the next nine points. Walters State got close thanks to kills from Hyatt, Haynie, Tarleton and Barton, but the Saints closed it out at 25-21. 

The Lady Senators came out on fire in set two, scoring five of the first six points. The lead grew to 9-3 following a kill by Barton, and Walters State held an 11-8 lead later. Unfortunately, that was when the Saints began to chip away. Lurleen B. Wallace grabbed the lead at 14-13 and never trailed again, taking the set, 25-17. 

The two teams were tied at one, two, three, four and five to open up set three, but the Lady Senators grabbed some control and went up 11-6 following kills from Haynie and Hyatt. The lead was 16-12 following a kill by Brickey, and the Lady Senators led 22-14 after a kill from Barton. Barton had one more kill in the set, and Walters State easily went on for a 25-16 set three win. 

The final set was another close one, with the two teams tied at 10, 11, 12 and 13. Again, Walters State seemed to take control and went up 18-14 following a kill and block from Coggins. The Saints would not go away, though and scored the next six points to take the lead. Walters State broke the run with a block from Tarleton, but Lurleen B. Wallace kept their momentum going and ended the match with a 25-21 fourth set win.

Up Next:

Walters State will jump back into TCCAA play next Thursday, taking on Chattanooga State on the road at 6 pm ET.