Lady Senators fall in opening match of Walters State Invitational

MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State battled tough against Wallace State in the opening match of the Walters State Invitational but fell in three sets, 3-0 (25-16, 29-27, 25-10).

With the loss, Walters State fell to 10-10 on the season. 

"I thought we came out a little slow in the opening set but really played well for the majority of the second set," Walters State coach Megan Blaylock said. "We just have to close things out there. Things just kind of spiraled after we weren't able to take that second set." 

To start the match, Wallace State got out to a 3-1 lead before a Maddie Rockrohr ace tied it up and Mackenzie Sweigart had a kill to take a 4-3 lead for the Lady Senators. The two teams traded points from there with a tie at four and five before Wallace State took the lead for good.

Despite dropping the first set, Walters State battled tough and had the lead down to 15-13 before a three-point spurt from Wallace State gave them back their comfortable lead. Wallace State scored the final three points to win the set.

In the second set, Walters State came out looking like a new team. The Lady Senators went up 6-2 and then 10-4 as Sweigart had a handful of kills, as did Rockrohr and Jordan Moore. Wallace State hung around, but Walters State kept on charging and led 16-10 after a Mattie Davis kill. Faith Heskett was huge during the run with some wildly impressive digs. 

However, after a timeout, Wallace State seemed to find their footing and tied the set at 18. The two teams battled evenly after that with ties at 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26 and 27. Walters State had two set points but weren't able to close it out as Wallace State scored the final two points and took the second set. 

Feeling the effects of the second set, Walters State came out slow in the third set and got down 10-2. The lead for Wallace State grew to 18-4 before they finished things off with a 25-10 third set victory. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action for two matches on Saturday in the Walters State Invitational. The Lady Senators will take on Spartanburg Methodist at 1 p.m. and Catawba Valley at 5 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics