Walnut sweeps Ripley for eighth straight win; Falkner ends skid

Walnut followed its third consecutive county volleyball championship with another sweep of Ripley, winning 3–0 at home Monday, Sept. 28, to extend its winning streak to eight matches.

The Wildcats improved to 27–4 on a night designated as Senior Night on the North Tippah school calendar. Two days after beating Ripley in two sets during the county tournament, Walnut again finished without dropping a set in the nonconference rematch.

Saturday’s title run included straight-set victories over Ripley, Falkner and Pine Grove. Monday added a fourth sweep in three days and brought Walnut’s home record to 12–1, extending a stretch of success that carries into another district road match Tuesday.

Falkner, meanwhile, ended a four-match losing streak with a decisive 3–0 victory at Jumpertown. The Eagles won 25–16, 25–8, 25–8, allowing just 16 points combined over the final two sets after taking the opener by nine.

The district win lifted Falkner to 8–16 overall and 6–3 in league play. The Eagles stand third in Class 1A Region 1. It also completed a regular-season sweep of Jumpertown: the Eagles won their Sept. 1 home meeting 3–0 and took all six sets across the two matches.

Falkner’s losing streak had included a defeat at Wheeler followed by three county-tournament losses Saturday. One of those Saturday results, previously unavailable, is now listed on both teams’ schedules: Pine Grove beat Falkner 2–1.

Walnut and Ripley return to district competition Tuesday, Sept. 29, with unbeaten league records intact. Walnut, 7–0 in its district, visits Baldwyn at 6 p.m.; Ripley, 5–0 in its district, travels to Senatobia at 5 p.m. Ripley swept Senatobia in their Sept. 21 meeting.

Thursday, Oct. 1, brings home matches for Falkner against Biggersville and Pine Grove against Saltillo, both scheduled for 6 p.m. Central. Falkner won the first Biggersville meeting 3–1 on Sept. 21.