By PATRICK CASEY
The Walton Lady Braves earned a four set victory over Freeport on Sept. 30 as the Braves defeated the visiting Bulldogs by a score of 25-17, 25-18, 25-27 and 25-22.
Walton started the match off strong as they took the opening set with strong service performances from senior Kayla Jackson and junior Chloe Andrews. Walton held a 16-6 lead only to see the Bulldogs capture 10 of the next 12 points to trim the advantage to 18-16 before the Braves took seven of the final eight points for the 25-17 win.
The second set went similar to the first as Walton got off to a 15-8 lead as the host squad’s size at the net was a problem for the Bulldogs. Ashley Harper and Deja Tucker were a force in the middle as the Braves parlayed a 20-14 lead into a 25-18 win.
Freeport’s Mady Jones got the Bulldogs off to a good start in the third set as her serves proved difficult for Walton to field, helping the visiting team to eight straight points at one point in the match for a 12-9 lead. The Braves battled back and tied the match at 12-all and 16-all when tragedy struck as Freeport senior Mary Kate Myrick injured her knee at the net and had to leave the game for the rest of the match. The Bulldogs compensated well as Laura Ham, Devany Beard and Kennedi Bates rallied the squad to a 27-25 victory to keep the visitors in the match.
Freeport appeared to take the momentum into the fourth set as they built an 11-3 lead over the Braves only to see Walton rally and tie the contest at 15-all. Senior Krystal Schipper had a run of serves that helped Walton close the gap with Andrews pushing the Braves ahead at 20-18. McKenzie Dickey, Katy Brannon and Bailey Burgess combined to help Walton earn the win with a 25-22 decision to end the match.
Walton earned another win on Thursday night as Marianna came to town and fell in straight sets by the score of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-12.
Freeport rebounded from the Walton loss with a fruitful trek to Jay as the Bulldogs captured a five set win over the Royals on Thursday night. Freeport posted a 22-25, 31-33, 25-16, 25-15 and 15-12 win as Mady Jones had 18 kills with teammate Amanda Sefo adding 17. Freshman Devany Beard had three blocks while senior Kennedi Bates had nine digs.
The Bulldogs did not have as much success on Monday night as Blountstown traveled to Freeport and picked up a straight set victory 25-17, 25-23 and 25-22 as the host squad fell to 12-4 overall. The loss followed news that Myrick has an ACL tear in her knee and will miss the rest of the volleyball season (and almost certainly girls basketball season).
Game Notes: Walton coach Marla Brooks is 145-95 in 10 seasons as the Lady Braves’ head coach. The Braves have won eight in a row against Freeport and will travel to face the Bulldogs on Oct. 14. The Lady Braves will close out their regular season district slate on Thursday night as the squad travels to Pensacola to face West Florida. Walton’s district tournament will be held the week of Oct. 20 in Marianna. The loss of senior Mary Kate Myrick will damage the Bulldogs’ chances of making the playoffs with district road matches left against Chipley (Oct. 7) and Baker (Oct. 9) still ahead. Freeport’s district tournament will be held in Jay the week of Oct. 20.
