Lady Senators drop match to Pellissippi State

KNOXVILLE, TN – Walters State fell 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-22) to Pellissippi State on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Lady Senators dropped to 12-14 overall and 6-5 in TCCAA play. 

Pellissippi charged ahead 4-1 in the opening set of the match, but Walters State scored three straight to tie things up. The two teams were then tied at four, five, six and seven, but Pellissippi State scored seven straight to go up 14-7. The Lady Senators ended the run there, and a kill by Kara Coggins made it 14-9. Walters State continued to cut into the lead and had it down to 18-15 following a block from Davanie Tarleton. However, that was as close as they would get as Pellissippi closed the set out at 25-18.

Pellissippi State kept their momentum going early in the second set and led 4-1, but Walters State picked up a kill from Tarleton, an ace from Veda Barton and a block from Annah Cate Hyatt to take a 6-5 lead. Following ties at six, eight and nine, Pellissippi scored two straight. But, Walters State was there to tie it at 11 thanks to kills by Isabelle Brickey and Barton. Barton had two more kills that gave Walters State a 14-13 lead, and the advantage grew to 19-14 following back-to-back blocks by Tarleton.

Unfortunately for Walters State, Pellissippi bounced back and eventually took a 21-20 lead. The Panthers got set point at 24-22, but a kill by Preslee Quertermous and an ace from Hyatt tied things up. Despite the effort, though, the Panthers scored the next two points to win the set. 

Pellissippi again got up early in the third set before Walters State answered back and tied the set at six, seven and eight. Pellissippi made it 12-8 with four straight points, but a Barton kill highlighted a run that cut the lead to one. The lead hovered around one from there until Walters State tied it at 16 and then took the lead on a kill by Tarleton. Walters State kept hold of that lead and increased it to 20-17 after another kill by Tarleton and an ace from Barton. 

However, Pellissippi immediately tied the set back up and scored eight of the final 10 points to win the set and match.

Up Next:

Walters State will close out TCCAA play on Tuesday, hosting Cleveland State at 6 pm ET. Tuesday's match is Faculty & Staff Night, and all Walters State Faculty & Staff are encouraged to come out and support the Lady Senators.