14th-seeded Walters State defeats 13th-seeded Enterprise State, falls to 12th-seeded Grand Rapids in NJCAA DII Championship

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – 14th-seeded Walters State defeated 13th-seeded Enterprise State 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) in the NJCAA DII Volleyball Championship on Thursday morning, before falling to Grand Rapids 3-1 (25-12, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21).

With the loss, the Lady Senators closed the season at 27-7. Walters State were Region 7 Champions, Southeast B District Champions and finished Top-15 in NJCAA DII.

14) Walters State 3, 13) Enterprise State 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21)

In the opening match of the day, the Lady Senators had 18 blocks as they swept Enterprise State.

Lauren Mims led the way in the match with 11 kills and 14 digs, while Rylee Haynie had three kills and seven total blocks. Other contributors were Veda Barton with four kills and three block assists, Sydney Bjornstad with 16 digs, Olivia Brown with 11 assists and 11 digs, Catherine Sweeney and Alyssa Campbell each with three kills, Finley Surber with three kills and two block assists and Mykanna McMahon with an ace and four digs.

The Lady Senators broke out to a 3-1 lead early thanks to kills by Barton and Surber, but Enterprise tied things at three and six. Walters State rallied for three straight points, thanks to a kill by Sweeney and a kill and block by Mims. Enterprise broke the run with a point, but Mims had another kill to make it 10-7.

Enterprise scored two straight to cut the lead, but Walters State scored four more to lead 14-9. The lead grew to 16-10 after a block by Haynie and Surber, and it was 18-11 following an ace by Payton Brown. Mims had two more kills in the set, and Campbell had the final kill to give Walters State a 25-21 first set win.

In set two, the Lady Senators were tied at one, two, three, five and seven. At 7-7, the Lady Senators got a block by Sweeney, a kill by Surber and an ace by Mims to make it 10-7. A block by Campbell and an ace by Sweeney increased the lead to 12-8, and it was 15-9 a few points later. 

From there, Enterprise tied the set at 19 and 20 but a kill by Surber, a block by Haynie, a block by both Haynie and Barton and an ace by McMahon closed the set out at 25-22 in favor of Walters State.

The third set saw Walters State score six of the first seven points. During the early run, Mims had a kill and a block, Haynie had two blocks and Barton recorded a kill. The teams then tied at nine and 10, before Enterprise grabbed three in a row to go up 13-10.

However, Walters State responded with a kill from Campbell and block by Surber. Enterprise upped their lead to 16-12, but Walters State tied things at 17. The Lady Senators kept the momentum going and an ace by Bjornstad gave them a 20-17 lead. Enterprise made one final push, grabbing a 21-20 lead, but Walters State got two kills from Mims and a match-ending ace by Emma Miller to clinch the sweep.

12) Grand Rapids 3, 14) Walters State 1 (25-12, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21)

In match number two, the Lady Senators battled against a strong Grand Rapids team but ultimately fell. 

Mims finished off her Walters State career with a great match, totaling 15 kills and 15 digs. Mims finished her Walters State career with 577 kills and 854 digs in 67 matches. 

Along with Mims, Surber had seven kills and two block assists while Campbell had six kills and two block assists. Other contributors were Barton with five kills, Sweeney with five kills and three block assists, Haynie with four kills and three block assists, Bjornstad with 19 digs, Olivia Brown with 21 assists, Payton Brown with 14 digs and Miller with 10 digs and 11 assists.

It was all Grand Rapids early, scoring the first six points of the match. Walters State played into it and cut the lead to 7-4 after back-to-back kills from Sweeney and Mims, and then made it 8-6 following a kill from Campbell.

The Lady Senators continued to trail by just two after a kill by Mims made it 9-7, but Grand Rapids scored 12 of the next 13 points and went on for the first set victory.

In set two, the two teams tied at one, three, four, five, six and seven. At 7-7, the Lady Senators scored three straight thanks to a block by Campbell and Sweeney and kills by Campbell and Miller. Walters State kept the pressure on and, at 10-8, scored six straight. During the run, Haynie had a kill and a block assist with Barton, Olivia Brown had an ace and Surber had a block and kill.

Another Surber kill made it 17-9, but Grand Rapids rallied and cut things to 18-16. The Lady Senators got some momentum back after a kill by Mims and block by Sweeney and Campbell, and three kills from Campbell got the lead to 23-19. At 24-20, Olivia Brown served the set out with an ace to tie the match up.

Set three was similar to set one, with Grand Rapids scoring six of the first seven points. The lead became 11-6, but Walters State cut it to 11-10. Grand Rapids then grabbed a 16-12 advantage, but Mims took over with a stretch of three kills and back-to-back aces that tied the set at 18. 

Unfortunately for Walters State, Grand Rapids regained control from there and won 25-19 to go up 2-1.

In the final set, the Lady Senators put up a fight. The two teams were deadlocked early, but Walters State grabbed a 15-12 advantage thanks to back-to-back aces from Sweeney and a kill by Campbell. Grand Rapids came back with a flurry and scored seven straight to take the lead, but Walters State cut the lead to two at 22-20 following a kill by Sweeney and ace by Miller. The Lady Senators got one final kill by Mims to make it 23-21, but Grand Rapids scored the final two points to win the set and match.