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VSU Puts Up Fight at GSC Tourney

2009-11-13

SEARCY, Ark. - In Valdosta State's best match of the season, the Lady Blazers fell to Harding in the first round of the Gulf South Conference by scores of 19-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 17-19. After three sets, Valdosta State led 2-1, but the fourth set came down to the final points. In front of Harding's home crowd, the Bison won it, 25-23, to force the fifth set. Neither team led by more than two points throughout the final set. Valdosta State earned the first two-point lead at 12-10, but Harding pulled within one. Irene Hannan hit her 18th and final kill to regain the two-point lead for VSU, 13-11. Harding scored two consecutive points to take the lead at 14-13, but a Bison error and a service ace from Macy Markham pulled the Lady Blazers ahead again, 15-14. Down 17-16, Valdosta State's Tania Tauiliili and Katie Onushko blocked Manuela Nesheva's attack for the 17th and final VSU point in the set. Harding's Samantha Anderson made a kill followed by one from Nesheva to clinch the fifth set, 19-17, and the first round win for Harding. Ruthie King led the Lady Blazers in kills with 19. Hannan had 18 with a .311 attacking percentage. Also hitting in the .300s was Arielle Parnell, who finished with 13 kills of her own. Onushko and Tauiliili contributed nine and seven kills respectively. Emelia Saulter passed out 57 assists for Valdosta State and notched 11 digs on the night. Defensively, King and Hannan combined to lead the team in digs with 17 each while Onushko tallied 15. Freshmen Onushko and Tauiliili proved to be pests for Harding all night on the block. Tauiliili was in on seven blocks while Onushko was there for six. Nesheva led the Bison in kills with 23 while Reagan Smith had 15 and Anderson scored 11. Amber Schinzing passed out 48 assists, and Emily Tate tallied 20 digs. Valdosta State finishes the season 15-13 overall and 4-6 in the Gulf South Conference.

An Interview with Head Coach Sia Poyer

Three Named to All-Gulf South Team

2009-11-11

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Irene Hannan and Ruthie King's dominating performances this season have earned them the honor of being named to the All-Gulf South Conference first team. Tania Tauiliili was one of just three freshmen to be named to the All-GSC team in either division. She made the second team. The trio has helped lead Valdosta State to the team's first GSC Tournament appearance in two seasons. They have combined for 756 kills so far on the season. Hannan has been hitting at a rate of 3.34 kills per game. She was named the GSC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. Not just an offensive player, Hannan has notched 328 digs and 33 blocks for first and third on the team respectively. Hannan is tied for the second most solo blocks on the squad. King has been just as steady as Hannan for the Lady Blazers. She has put down 287 kills this season and leads the team in service aces with 33. King is the only Lady Blazer to play in every set played this season. With that opportunity she has dug up the ball 300 times and blocked it 24 times. Tauiliili has put together an outstanding start to her collegiate career. She leads the team in attacking percentage at .252 on the season. While she has been effective offensively with 142 kills for 1.45 per set, Tauiliili has really shown her talents on the block. She has 14 more blocks than any other Lady Blazer with 70, 11 of which have been solo. The All-GSC Teamers will try to lead the Lady Blazers to their first Gulf South Conference Championship this weekend in Searcy, Ark. at the GSC Tournament. Play starts for the Lady Blazers at 8:30 p.m. Friday evening. If Valdosta State wins, the team will face the winner of Arkansas Tech and West Alabama at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

West Alabama Beats Valdosta State in Four

2009-11-07

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State fell to West Alabama Saturday in a four-set match. After West Alabama won the first, 25-21, Valdosta State bounced back to win the second by the same score. Then VSU fell, 25-16, 25-20 in the remaining two sets. West Alabama, the top team in the East Division of the Gulf South Conference, moved to 8-2 in the GSC and 28-7 overall. Meanwhile, VSU is 15-12 and 4-6. Ruthie King and Arielle Parnell hit 10 kills each to lead the Lady Blazers. Parnell again led the team in attacking percentage. Chelsea Luttfring, Katie Onushko and Irene Hannan each notched 10 digs in the contest while Emelia Saulter passed out 36 assists. The Lady Blazers outblocked West Alabama by one, 11-10. Parnell was in on seven of VSU%u2019s blocks while Saulter had a hand in four. Jessica Crook led the Tigers with 20 kills while Jordan Kent and Thais Hollerbach each had 11. Alexis McHale passed out 45 assists and Chanelle Esteban had 20 digs. Hollerbach also pitched in 12 digs. The Lady Blazers will see their next action against Harding in the first round of the GSC Tournament. The teams will play in Searcy, Ark. at 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Lady Blazers Swept by Argonauts

2009-11-06

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State's four-match winning streak came to an end Friday night when West Florida beat the Lady Blazers, 25-14, 25-17, 25-23. With the win West Florida moves to 18-12 on the season and 7-2 in the Gulf South Conference. Valdosta State is 15-11 with a 4-5 record in the GSC. Arielle Parnell led the Lady Blazers in kills with eight on a .429 attacking percentage while Katie Onushko contributed seven kills. Irene Hannan had six in the effort. Hannan also led VSU in digs with 11 while Macy Markham had eight. Emelia Saulter passed out 24 assists. For West Florida, Lindsay Homme led the way with 15 kills. Patricia Gandolfo had 13 in the match and there were two others with nine. Tricia Tirabassi passed out 39 assists. Both Tirabassi and Chelsea Wilhoite had 10 digs in the match while Gandolfo had five blocks. There is a chance these two teams will meet in the Gulf South Conference tournament as both have clinched a berth. Until then, though, Valdosta State has one more match. The Lady Blazers will face West Alabama at 4 p.m. Saturday at the P.E. Complex.

Lady Blazers Go Wild on Wildcats

2009-10-30

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State made short work of Fort Valley State Friday night. On a night when VSU Volleyball celebrated Halloween and welcomed all kinds of costumes, the Lady Blazers looked frightening with the 25-9, 25-9, 25-14 win to move to 15-10 on the season. After giving up the first point of the match, the Lady Blazers stormed back to score 12 unanswered points behind 11 serves from Ruthie King. After that, the rout was on. Irene Hannan hit .526 for 12 kills while King made eight. Emelia Saulter passed out 27 assists and Hannan led the team in digs with 11. The Lady Blazers hit better than .475 in both the first and second games. Franchesca Long led the Wildcats with six kills and Andrea Stephenson led the team in digs with seven. Tellana Hill passed out six assists. The Lady Blazers have played their way into a chance to clinch a Gulf South Conference Tournament berth this weekend. If West Georgia loses to North Alabama Saturday, Valdosta State will clinch a spot in the postseason. Valdosta State will also have the chance to secure a spot in the tournament with matches against West Florida and West Alabama next week.

Lady Blazers Take ASU in Four

2009-10-29

ALBANY, Ga. - Valdosta State moved to 14-10 on the season with a win at Albany State. The Lady Blazers beat ASU in four games, 25-16, 25-14, 21-25, 25-22. Albany State drops to 10-6 on the year. Valdosta State handled the first two games with ease, but struggled in the third. In the fourth game, the struggles continued with VSU trailing 17-8. The Lady Blazers regrouped and stormed back to take the lead, 21-20, and eventually win the fourth game, 25-22, to take the match. Ruthie King, Arielle Parnell and Tania Tauiliili each tallied 12 kills to lead the Lady Blazers in the match. Irene Hannan pitched in 11 kills. Emelia Saulter passed out 49 assists in the match while King and Hannan cleaned up on defense. King notched 32 digs and Hannan had 20. Macy Markham had eight and three others had four. Tauiliili had one solo block and five assists. Parnell blocked two solo and had three block assists, and Katie Onushko had four block assists. The VSU defensive effort led to 11 team blocks to just four for Albany State. For Albany State, Latrice Lewis had 18 kills and Sabrina Garcia had 15. Priscila Sena passed out 33 assists and had 13 digs. Carolina Ribeiro notched 20 digs while Davisha Moore had 15. Valdosta State will look to add to the winning streak against Fort Valley State at 7 p.m. on Friday in the P.E. Complex.

Halloween Celebration at Volleyball

2009-10-27

This week the Lady Blazers look to celebrate Halloween as the team takes on Fort Valley State at 7 p.m. Friday. Join in on the fun with your own costume. There will be a prize for everyone in costume and special prizes for the top 10 costumes. This week bring your Halloween spirit along with your team spirit to the Valdosta State volleyball match at 7 p.m. Friday.

Hannan Again Named Player of the Week

2009-10-27

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Valdosta State's Irene Hannan earned her second consecutive Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Gulf South Conference. This week she helped lead VSU past North Alabama for the first time in school history and Alabama-Huntsville, both in four games. Hannan racked up 63 digs in just three matches. Last week she tallied 49 for a total of 112 in two weeks. She notched 21 against West Georgia, 18 against UNA and 24 in just four games against Alabama-Huntsville. She played a complete game against North Alabama as she also added two solo blocks and two block assists with 18 digs and 13 kills. She also notched a solo block and a block assist against UAH. Hannan averaged 4.85 digs and 0.46 blocks per game on the week. In addition to her defensive performance, Hannan also contributed on offense. She put up 23 kills against West Georgia and 13 against both North Alabama and Alabama-Huntsville. She averaged 3.77 kills per game over the week. This week she will lead Valdosta State against Albany State Thursday and Fort Valley State at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Complex Friday.

Lady Blazers Notch Second in a Row

2009-10-24

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State put together its second consecutive Gulf South victory with a 3-1 win over Alabama-Huntsville Saturday. The Lady Blazers move to 13-10 on the season and 4-4 in the Gulf South with the 25-8, 25-21, 25-27, 25-20, win. Alabama-Huntsville drops to 7-24 and 1-6. The Lady Blazers again displayed great defense. Irene Hannan had 24 digs while Ruthie King had 14 and Katie Onushko had 11. Three others had seven or more. Hannan also had 13 kills and King had 10 while Emelia Saulter passed out 44 assists. Tania Tauiliili notched 11 kills with a .526 attacking percentage. For UAH, Allison Cousins and Kelsey Williams led the way with eight kills each. Kelly Wilson passed out 31 assists. Four Chargers had double-digit digs with Williams leading the way with 16. Valdosta State will look to continue the team%u2019s winning streak at Albany State at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Lady Blazers Knock Off North Alabama

2009-10-23

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State bounced back with a historical win against North Alabama Friday night. After dropping two straight, the Lady Blazers beat the Lions, 3-1, for the first time in 32 meetings. The Lady Blazers dropped the first game, 23-25, but bounced back to win three consecutive games and the match. The win pushes VSU's record to 12-10 for the season and 3-4 in Gulf South action. North Alabama dropped to 14-13 and 3-3. Valdosta State's defense shined bright Friday night as the team made 10 blocks. Tania Tauiliili had one solo and four assists while Irene Hannan had two solos and two assists. The VSU defense held North Alabama's attacking percentage to just .129 and a -.026 in the final frame. Hannan had 18 digs and Ruthie King, despite missing some time in the match, put up 17 digs. Emelia Saulter was the other Lady Blazer with double-digit digs, finishing with 12. Valdosta State's offensive power balanced the team defense. Saulter passed out 51 assists while Katie Onushko hit 14 kills. King and Hannan each had 13 while Arielle Parnell and Tauiliili each had eight. The Lady Blazers will look for another win against Alabama-Huntsville at 2 p.m. in the P.E. Complex Saturday.

Hannan Named Player of the Week

2009-10-21

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Valdosta State's Irene Hannan was named one of the Gulf South Conference's Players of the Week for her performance against Lynn, Rollins and Harding this past weekend. Hannan racked up 45 digs in the three matches for an average of 3.46 per game. She also notched one solo block on her way to four blocks for the week. On the offensive side, Hannan scored two aces and 45 kills. She has already started her campaign for next week's award with an outstanding 23 kill, 21 dig performance against West Georgia Tuesday night. Hannan will look to lead the Lady Blazers against North Alabama at 6 p.m. Friday at Alabama-Huntsville at 2 p.m. Saturday.

VSU Can't Finish West Georgia

2009-10-20

CARROLLTON, Ga. - For the third match in a row, Valdosta State played a full five-game match. But for the second consecutive match, the Lady Blazers lost in the fifth frame. West Georgia beat VSU, 20-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-9. With the loss, Valdosta State drops to 11-10 on the season with a 2-4 record in the Gulf South Conference. West Georgia moves to 10-15, 1-5 in the GSC. The Lady Blazers jumped out to a good start winning the first two sets by five and seven points. The third set was a close one in which West Georgia needed an extra point to win. After that, the Lady Blazers would not take another game. Irene Hannan played her third match with 20 kills or more, notching 23 on the night. She also had 21 digs while Ruthie King had 14 kills and 17 digs. Emelia Saulter and Macy Markham each contributed 11 digs while Saulter passed out 55 assists. Katie Onushko had four blocks while Tania Tauiliili blocked three. It would not be enough as West Georgia put up 11 blocks. Jasmine Dotson led the team in kills and digs with 14 and 17 respectively. Audrey Hipple had 13 kills and 15 digs while Ellie Murphy dug the ball up 16 times. Valdosta State will look to rebound against North Alabama Friday at the P.E. Complex.

VSU Pushes Harding to Five

2009-10-18

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Valdosta State faced the top team in the Gulf South West Division Sunday and proved that VSU belongs in the conversation of the top teams in the Gulf South Conference. In a back-and-forth match, Valdosta State pushed Harding to five games before falling in the final frame, 15-11, to drop to 11-9 on the season. The Lady Blazers took the first set, 25-21, but dropped the second. Valdosta State bounced back to win the third game, but could not earn another win in the match despite two close games. Four Lady Blazers tallied double-digit kills in the match with Ruthie King leading the way. She hit 20 kills and notched 11 digs. Irene Hannan had 15 kills and 14 digs. Hannan led the team with a .364 attacking percentage to help the Lady Blazers hit .406 in the first game and .312 in the third. Katie Onushko contributed 14 kills while Tania Tauiliili had 10. Emelia Saulter passed out an eye-popping 60 assists, five more than the entire Harding team. For Harding, Sarah Phipps had 17 kills. Two others were in double digits. Emily Tate had 16 digs and Amber Schinzing passed out 41 assists. Valdosta State next plays at West Georgia at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and will return to the P.E. Complex Friday at 6 p.m. to face North Alabama.

VSU Splits at Rollins Crossover

2009-10-17

Match 1 Box Score Match 2 Box Score WINTER PARK, Fla. - Valdosta State traveled to Florida to play three teams at the Rollins Crossover. The Lady Blazers split against the first two on Saturday. After falling to Lynn, 25-18, 25-15, 25-21, VSU bounced back to take down Rollins in five games, 23-25, 26-24, 11-25, 25-19, 15-10. Ruthie King and Irene Hannan again led the team with kills, both with 10. Hannan also racked up 14 digs in the match while Emelia Saulter passed out 30 assists. Lynn had three players with seven kills. Devon Woolard passed out 33 assists and Lacy Pedwine had 14 digs. Against Rollins, the Lady Blazers fell in the first game, but came back to win the second game, 26-24. After dropping the third set, Valdosta State went on to win the fourth and final set for the match. Hannan had 20 kills and Katie Onushko backed her up with 13. Four Lady Blazers were in double digit digs led by Hannan with 17, King had 15. Onushko had 11 and Chelsea Luttfring notched 10. Saulter had 47 assist in the match. Tania Tauiliili had two solo blocks and four assists to help the Lady Blazers outblock Rollins, 9-5. For Rollins Nicki Hartman had 27 kills and Phoebe Corder had 20 digs. Kiana Parks passed out 41 assists. Valdosta State will play their final match of the weekend at 10 a.m. Sunday against Harding.

UWA Tigers Bite VSU

2009-10-10

LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The top team in the Gulf South Conference's East Division proved too much for Valdosta State Saturday. West Alabama swept the Lady Blazers, 25-15, 25-14, 25-21. With the loss, VSU drops below .500 in the GSC at 2-3 while West Alabama stays undefeated at 4-0. The teams are 10-7 and 19-5 respectively. Again, it was Irene Hannan who led the team in kills. She had 10 on the night with a team-leading nine digs as well. Ruthie King put up nine kills and five digs. Lea Weber made her first strong showing of the season as she passed out 31 assists on the night with four digs and the only Lady Blazer block of the match. Chelsea Luttfring was the defensive stalwart for Valdosta State with her second match in which she leads the team in digs. She had 16 to lead all players. West Alabama's Jessica Crook put up 11 kills on a .400 attacking percentage. Alexis McHale passed out 33 assists and Thais Hollerbach had 12 digs. Jordan Kent had two solo blocks and two assists in the match. The Lady Blazers next match will take place at the Rollins Crossover Tournament October 17-18.

Argos Too Much for Lady Blazers

2009-10-09

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Valdosta State fell to #24 West Florida Friday night. After keeping it close in the first game, the Lady Blazers could not overcome West Florida in the 3-0 sweep, 25-22, 25-14, 25-19. With the loss, Valdosta State moves to 10-6 on the season while West Florida is 12-8. The Argonauts move to 3-1 in the Gulf South and Valdosta State is 2-2. Junior leaders Irene Hannan and Ruthie King had near identical lines with eight kills and digs each. Hannan added thre blocks while Tania Tauiliili notched four. Katie Onushko was second in kills with six and added seven digs. Tauiliili and Arielle Parnell each contributed five kills on the night. Chelsea Luttfring was the best defensive player for the Lady Blazers on the night with 10 digs to lead the team. Emelia Saulter gave out 27 assists. Chelsea Wilhoite led West Florida in kills with 12. Patricia Gandolfo contributed 10. Maddie Staub led the team in digs with seven, and there were three others with five. Tricia Tirabassi was one of them, but she also added 31 assists. The Lady Blazers will look to bounce back at West Alabama Saturday at noon.

Saints March Past VSU

2009-10-06

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State fell to 10-5 on the season after a loss to Flagler Tuesday night. The Saints swept the Lady Blazers, 25-23, 25-18, 28-26. Katie Onushko and Irene Hannan combined for 22 kills, 11 each, on the night. Hannan added 17 digs to lead VSU. Ruthie King and Arielle Parnell each contributed seven kills. Emelia Saulter passed out 34 assists and was second on the team in digs with 11. Tania Tauiliili had two solo blocks in addition to a block assist to help Valdosta State out block Flagler, 5-4. Katie Beale had 12 kills for the Saints with 10 digs. Olivia Snipes finished with 18 digs and 24 assists to lead the team in both categories. The Lady Blazers will resume Gulf South action Friday at 8 p.m. at West Florida.

Valdosta State Bounces Back

2009-10-03

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Valdosta State rebounded from the loss to North Alabama Friday with a 3-1 win against Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday, 25-16, 26-12, 22-25, 25-17. With the win, the Lady Blazers move to 2-1 in the Gulf South and 10-4 on the year. Alabama-Huntsville falls to 6-16 on the season and 0-3 in the GSC. Irene Hannan led the team in kills with 13, but it was the excellent play of middle blockers Arielle Parnell and Tania Tauiliili that helped the Lady Blazers put away the Chargers. Tauiliili had seven kills on just 14 attacks for a .500 percentage while Parnell was second on the team in kills with 12 on a .455 attacking percentage. Parnell was also in on five blocks with one solo. Hannan and Ruthie King both led the team in digs with 11, but Chelsea Luttfring was right behind them with nine. Emelia Saulter passed out 44 assists. For Alabama-Huntsville, it was Allison Cousins leading the team in kills with 11. Kaeli McCaghren had 16 digs to lead the team while Kelly Wilson led in assists with 25. Valdosta State will look to start a win streak with the team's next match against Flagler at 7 p.m. at the P.E. Complex on Tuesday.

North Alabama Takes Hold of GSC East

2009-10-02

FLORENCE, Ala. - Valdosta State started strong against North Alabama, forcing the first game into extra points. But after falling in the first game, 27-25, the Lady Blazers could not score enough to beat the UNA Lions, and eventually fell, 27=25, 25-19, 25-17. The Lady Blazers move to 9-4 on the season and an even 1-1 in the Gulf South Conference while UNA keeps an undefeated record in the GSC, 2-0, and goes to 10-8 on the season. Ruthie King led Valdosta State in kills for the match, finishing with 10. Just behind her was Katie Onushko with nine and Irene Hannan with eight. Both King and Hannan notched 15 digs on the night while Macy Markham and Emelia Saulter both dug up the ball 10 times. Saulter also had 29 assists in the match. Sarah Roberts led the Lions in kills with 12 while Alison Jacobs had 11 digs to go with her 36 assists. The Lady Blazers were out blocked, 6-1, by the Lions. Aside from Arielle Parnell's attacking percentage of .312, Valdosta State was too inefficient on the attack. The Lady Blazers compiled a .124 attacking percentage to North Alabama's .222. Valdosta State will look to bounce back at Alabama-Huntsville at 2 p.m. Saturday.

VSU Notches First GSC Win of Season

2009-09-25

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State used a balanced offensive attack against West Georgia to move to 1-0 in the Gulf South Conference and 9-3 on the year. West Georgia fell to 8-10 and 0-2 in the GSC with the loss. Behind double-digit kills from Irene Hannan, Ruthie King and Katie Onushko, the Lady Blazers beat the Wolves of West Georgia, 25-22, 22-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-8. Hannan finished with 16 kills while King had 15. Onushko added 12. Emelia Saulter joined King to lead the team in digs with 16. Hannan had 15 on the night and Onushko finished with 10. Saulter also passed out 45 assists and registered a solo block in addition to a block assist. Tania Tauiliili led the team in blocks with six assists, but Onushko added four. Hannan and Logan also notched solo blocks back to back for VSU's 11th and 12th points in the fifth frame. Mary Krueger led West Georgia in kills with 16 while Ellie Murphy racked up 21 digs. Taylor Mense gave 41 assists on the night. Valdosta State faces North Alabama in Florence, Ala. at 8 p.m. Friday.

Lady Blazers Fall to Saints

2009-09-16

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Valdosta State's winning streak came to an end Wednesday night against Flagler. The Lady Blazers fell to 8-3 with a four-game loss to the Saints. Flagler won, 25-10, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19. In a hotly contested match Valdosta State took the second game after dropping the first. The third and fourth sets were close, but VSU couldn't come out on top. No Lady Blazer notched double-digit kills. The most kills the team put up came in the second game when the Lady Blazers struck 10. Irene Hannan led the team with seven and Ruthie King and Arielle Parnell both hit for six. Emelia Saulter passed out 20 assists while Hannan had nine digs. Katie Beale led the Saints with 16 kills and Meg Weathersby and Justine Burkhardt both had 11. Olivia Snipes passed for 27 assists while Beale and Burkhardt had 12 and 11 digs respectively. The Lady Blazers will look to bounce back against West Georgia on September 25 in the P.E. Complex.

Lady Blazers Serve Up Home Opener

2009-09-11

VALDOSTA, Ga. - After being on the road the past two weekends, the Valdosta State Lady Blazers come home to begin the team's home season with the opener against Albany State. The match starts at 6 p.m. tonight. Valdosta State will honor the heroes of September 11, 2001, at the beginning of the match, and then the action will begin. For those who can't make it to the P.E. Complex tonight, check out the webcast of tonight's match here. Also, check back for webcasts of Lady Blazer volleyball on September 25 against West Georgia, October 23 against North Alabama, October 24 against Alabama-Huntsville, October 30 against Fort Valley State and November 6 against West Florida. Just click on the "Free Live Webcast" link on the right side of the homepage at www.vstateblazers.com. This will be your last chance to catch the Lady Blazers at home until September 25 against West Georgia. Don't miss out.

Valdosta State Knocks Off Golden Rams

2009-09-11

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State, led by Irene Hannan's 20 kills, beat Albany State in four games, 23-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-15. After dropping the first game, the Lady Blazers rebounded to win three straight to move to 8-2 on the season. Valdosta State attacked for a percentage above .300 in the last three frames and a .389 in the final frame. Hannan hit for a percentage of .447 on her way to 20 kills and also notched 14 digs. Leading the team in digs, however, was Ruthie King with 18 and 14 kills. Tania Tauiliili and Arielle Parnell both had nine kills while Katie Onushko finished with eight. King led a foursome of her, Hannan, Emelia Saulter, and Chelsea Luttfring of double-digit diggers. Saulter had 10 while Luttfring dug up 12. Saulter also passed out 57 assists in the match. The Lady Blazer defense held Albany State to just .131 attacking percentage, but Latrice Lewis hit for 19 kills. No other Golden Ram reached double digits. Valdosta State will next be in action against Flagler in St. Augustine, Fla., on Wednesday.

Lady Blazers Sweep Wildcats

2009-09-07

FORT VALLEY, Ga. - Valdosta State swept Fort Valley State Monday to cap a 4-1 Labor Day weekend for the team. With the 3-0 sweep of the Wildcats, VSU moves to 7-2 on the season. After playing in the Montevallo Classic over the weekend, Valdosta State stopped in Fort Valley, Ga. for one more match. A balanced attack from VSU led to a 25-8, 25-10, 25-14 victory. Five players finished with five kills or more with the most coming from junior captain Ruthie King. She finished with eight kills and eight digs. Emelia Saulter gave 27 assists, and Chelsea Luttfring led the team in digs with 14. Valdosta State's defense allowed a mere -.169 attacking percentage for Fort Valley State. The Lady Blazers will play next against Albany State at 6 p.m. on Friday in the P.E. Complex for the team's home opener.

VSU Takes Montevallo in Five, Falls to Arkansas Tech

2009-09-06

MONTEVALLO, Ala. - Valdosta State's five-game winning streak came to an end Sunday, but the team bounced back with a come-from-behind victory over Montevallo. After falling to Arkansas Tech, 3-0, the Lady Blazers beat Montevallo in five. It was Valdosta State's second win after falling behind, 2-0. The Lady Blazers kept it close in the first game against Arkansas Tech with a 6-6 tie, but then the Golden Suns pulled away. Arkansas tech went on a run to 12-6 and then another one to 19-12. It was too much to overcome as VSU fell, 25-16, in the first frame. In the second frame, Valdosta State tied it at 10 before the Golden Suns began to pull away for the 25-15 win. The third set was VSU's best against Arkansas Tech, but it would not be enough to pull out the win. The Golden Suns put VSU away, 25-19, in the final game. Irene Hannan led the Lady Blazers in kills with 12 and digs with 11. Emelia Saulter dished 24 assists in the match. Valdosta State went back and forth against Montevallo in the first frame, and led by as many as four points. However, the Falcons fought back to win the set, 25-22. The second game was much like the first. There were a number of long volleys, but Montevallo gained their second point in the match with a 25-18 win. In the third frame, Valdosta State stayed alive with a thrilling 25-23 win to force the match to a fourth set. Ruthie King notched five kills and Hannan dug the ball five times in the third game alone. The Lady Blazers had only four errors in the game. Behind Katie Onushko, Valdosta State carried the momentum into the fourth game. Onushko notched six kills and four digs in the frame. The Lady Blazers raced out to a 7-2 lead to force an early timeout from Montevallo. After the timeout, VSU expanded their lead to 12-4. At that point, the Lady Blazers seized complete control to surge to a 21-9 lead and eventual 25-13 win. Valdosta State only committed two errors in the fourth game. The Falcons regained their composure in the fifth frame, but the Lady Blazers led, 8-7, at the switch. With VSU leading, 12-8, Montevallo took its second timeout of the game. The Falcons would need more as VSU won the game, 15-10, to take the match, 3-2. Both Hannan and Onushko finished with 16 kills while King notched 11 and 22 digs. Hannan had 16 digs while Saulter dug up 11 on her way to 49 assists. The Lady Blazers outblocked Montevallo, 11-6 with Saulter and Tania Tauiliili in on five and six respectively. Valdosta State's next match comes at Fort Valley State at 11 a.m. Monday. Match 1 Box Score Match 2 Box Score

Lady Blazers Surge to 5-1

2009-09-05

MONTEVALLO, Ala. - Valdosta State surged to 5-1 to start the season with wins over Stillman and Clark Atlanta Saturday. Neither team could take a game off Valdosta State as the Lady Blazers cruised to 3-0 wins. The Lady Blazers started against Stillman. After winning a close game one, 25-22, Valdosta State turned it on in the next two games to sweep Stillman, 25-22, 25-11, 25-16. Ruthie King led the way with 16 kills on a .536 attacking percentage. Emelia Saulter passed out 37 assists and notched 12 digs to lead Valdosta State in both categories. Freshman Katie Onushko had three block assists while King and freshman Tania Tauiliili were in on two each. The Lady Blazer defense held Stillman to a mere .030 attacking percentage. In the first game against Clark Atlanta, Valdosta State fell behind, 4-1, early, but the Lady Blazers bounced back to only allow four more points to CAU the rest of the game, winning 25-8. Chelsea Luttfring served six straight times to put VSU ahead, 7-5, and the Lady Blazers did not look back. After winning the second game, 25-14, Valdosta State was down again in the third. The Lady Blazers fell behind, 4-0, but again Luttfring brought them back. Behind eight straight Luttfring serves, Valdosta State took a 10-6 lead. Onushko was next to serve and went for six uninterrupted points, but it was King and Macy Markham who led the team in aces, each with four. Onushko led the Lady Blazers with eight kills while Tauiliili and Chelsea Proffitt each had seven. Saulter gave 30 assists and King led the team in digs with six. The Lady Blazers will take on Arkansas Tech and Montevallo at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively on Sunday. Match 1 Box Score Match 2 Box Score

Lady Blazers Start 3-1

2009-08-29

CARROLLTON, Ga. - After splitting Friday, the Lady Blazers went undefeated Saturday. With a 3-2 win against South Carolina-Aiken and a 3-1 win over Barton, Valdosta State moved to 3-1 to start the season. Valdosta State fell in the first two games against USC-Aiken, but came back to win two games by matching scores of 25-20. In the fifth frame, USC-Aiken pushed the Lady Blazers to the edge, but VSU won 21-19 to finish the match 17-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, 21-19. Katie Onushko led the way in kills for VSU with 20. Both Irene Hannan and Ruthie King had 17 kills with Hannan turning in .433 attacking percentage. Hannan also had 10 digs while Emelia Saulter dished 50 times and had 11 digs. Against Barton the Lady Blazers lost the first game again, this time in a close 26-24 battle. Valdosta State showed its mental toughness by coming from behind again. The Lady Blazers bounced back to win three straight games, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18 to move to 3-1 on the year. King finished with 16 kills and 19 digs to lead VSU in both categories while Hannan had 15 kills. Saulter was the only Lady Blazer with an assist all day and passed out 41 in the second match. Valdosta State will be in action next at the Montevallo Classic September 5-6. Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score

Lady Blazers Split to Start Season

2009-08-28

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers jumped out to a great start against Rollins Friday afternoon with a chance to win the first game. Valdosta State saw two game points in the first, but could not close out. That was a mistake VSU would not make again when the team faced Stillman. The Lady Blazers fell to Rollins, 3-1, but rebounded with a 3-0 victory over Stillman at the West Georgia Classic. "We started really well in the first game. We did some good things," Head Coach Sia Poyer said. "We were scrappy throughout the match, and we will be throughout the season." The first and third games against Rollins were the team's best games Friday. Valdosta State took a narrow loss in the first, but won the third game off Rollins. Poyer said it felt like VSU won nearly every rally but made too many service errors. Valdosta State will look to finish the tournament tomorrow against USC-Aiken at 10 a.m. and Barton at 12:30 p.m.

Serves Up!

2009-08-27

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State volleyball will start the season against Rollins at the West Georgia Invitational at 2 p.m. on Friday. The Lady Blazers will face Stillman, South Carolina-Aiken and Barton before the weekend is over. For a full look at the schedule, click here. To download a schedule wallpaper for your computer desktop, click here. After finishing 18-19 and just missing the Gulf South Conference tournament, VSU is looking for improvement this season. Head Coach Sia Poyer feels like the preseason has been full of good effort and that the team is on its way to a better season. "It's been a really fun, competitive preseason of practice for us this year," said Poyer. "The junior class has really stepped up to lead this team into the season." The junior class consists of outside hitters Irene Hannan and team captain Ruthie King, setter Emelia Saulter and middle blocker Arielle Parnell. Hannan and King, according to Poyer, have led the group in effort and attitude, and he needs that from his most consistent offensive duo. Saulter has challenged Lea Weber at the setter position this season. "She has been pretty good competition for Lea, and she has been playing lights out on defense," Poyer said of Saulter. "She's playing like a veteran and with great effort." That said, Weber has improved from last season. She played in 34 of 37 matches last season as a freshman. This year Poyer looks for more consistency and leadership from Weber. Parnell is part of a solid middle blocker position. The others are sophomore Chelsea Logan and freshman Tania Tauiliili. Logan leads all returners in attack percentage and was the best blocker on the team last season. She also notched 58 service aces on the year. Tauiliili is a 5-foot-11 freshman that will contribute this season. One of the biggest losses from last season was Laura Boos at the libero position, but Poyer has two players battling to take over the spot. Sophomore Macy Markham is competing with freshman Chelsea Luttfring. Poyer believes both are getting better every day. Luttfring brings an extensive sand volleyball background that is helping her in her first season. Freshman Jennifer Bryant is also competing at the libero position. As with every college volleyball team, most of the offense comes from the hitters on the outside. King and Hannan have the starting spots locked down, but freshman Katie Onushko has stepped up in the preseason according to Poyer. She can hit from the left or right and puts "monster" hits down Poyer said. He has also been impressed by her defense. Redshirt sophomore Chelsea Proffitt will also log time at outside hitter. Check back at www.vstateblazers.com for results from this weekend's tournament.

Five Lady Blazers Honored for Academics

2009-02-09

Five Lady Blazers were named to the 2008 Gulf South Conference All-Academic Honor Roll. Two outgoing volleyball seniors were listed from Valdosta State: Laura Boos and Kathrine Carter. All-Conference player Irene Hannan was selected while two freshmen, Chelsea Logan and Macy Markham, also made the list. Boos and Hannan are focusing on nursing while Carter will earn her degree in general studies. Both Logan and Markham are studying business. Boos also made the conference's All-Academic team. She was one of four Valdosta State student-athletes named to the GSC Fall All-Academic team.

Volleyball Walk on Tryouts

2009-01-30

Volleyball walk on tryouts will be held Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in the P.E. Complex. First, there are five things you need to know. 1) Contact the volleyball coaching staff to reserve a spot. 2) To tryout, one must be a high school senior, high school graduate, or a junior college or four-year college transfer 3) Must provide proof of a medical examination within six months before the tryout. 4) Download and complete the waiver form and have it at the tryout. 5) No Exceptions. Contact Information Head Coach Sia Poyer impoyer@valdosta.edu (229) 333-5894 Graduate Assistant Coach Tara Nelson tnelson@valdosta.edu (229) 333-5894

Lady Blazers Ink Onushko for 2009

2008-12-01

VALDOSTA, Ga. - After a season that saw one Lady Blazer outside hitter, Irene Hannan, named to the All-Gulf South Conference First Team, Head Coach Sia Poyer signed another player with that kind of potential. Katie Onushko out of South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Ga., signed during the early signing period to play for Poyer at Valdosta State. "She is a very talented, explosive player," Poyer said. "She's a great athlete with a fast arm swing that will provide another offensive threat." Onushko will give the Lady Blazers a chance to be more athletic than ever under Poyer. Along with her athleticism, Onushko brings versatility. She can play either the right or the left side, and, as a southpaw, she provides an additional advantage of a lefty on the right side. Accomplishments for Onushko have started to stack up, and she isn't even finished with her high school/club career. Currently she plays for A5 Junior Olympic National Team, arguably the best club volleyball team in Atlanta. Last year, the team placed 12th in the American Division. Onushko made the All-County First Team in 2006-08, all but one year that she spent on varsity. She was named a Metro Atlanta All-Northside Team Honorable Mention in 2006 and 2007 and to the All-Region team as well as South Forsyth's Most Valuable Player in 2007. During her senior season at South Forsyth, Onushko led in kills, attack percentage, digs per game and aces per game. She served as the varsity captain and was again named MVP. Away from the net, Onushko's performance doesn't waver. She was just named an outstanding senior representative for the class of 2009 by the faculty of South Forsyth. "She is a great kid with a great attitude," Poyer said. "She's one of the great players coming out of the Atlanta area and it is a huge plus that we were able to get her signed early."

Hannan Named First Team All-GSC

2008-11-12

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Gulf South Conference named its All-Gulf South Conference volleyball team Wednesday. Named to the first team in the East was Valdosta State's Irene Hannan. Hannan is the only sophomore named to the East's first team and one of only two sophomores conference wide to be named to the first team. The Gulf South recognized her efforts this season as she compiled 438 kills at a clip of 3.34 per game on the season under the tutelage of Head Coach Sia Poyer. That is good enough for fifth in the conference in both categories. She also notched 331 digs, 56 blocks and 35 service aces this season. This season, Hannan has put together a few stellar performances. She registered 14 double-doubles on the year with such gaudy numbers as 20 kills and 20 digs against Charleston-West Virginia September 12, 21 kills and 10 digs twice, 14 kills and 19 digs against Arkansas-Monticello August 30, 19 kills and 10 digs against West Georgia October 20, 18 kills with 13 digs against Flagler October 4, and 18 kills and 12 digs against Newberry September 13. VSU will look for another great performance from her in 2009. For more Gulf South honors, please click here.

Seniors Lead Lady Blazers to Victory

2008-11-10

VALDOSTA, Ga. - On senior night all four Lady Blazer seniors contributed to sweeping the Wildcats of Fort Valley State, 25-11, 25-12, 25-11. The match was never in question. Niki Patriarca led all players in assists with 27 while Kathrine Carter led the seniors in kills with six. Brittney Borg led the team in digs with 10 while Laura Boos contributed five on the night. The other Lady Blazers put forth a strong performance to ensure their seniors went out on top. Irene Hannan led all players in kills with 11 and a 0.391 hitting percentage. Chelsea Logan and Ruthie King added eight each, with King hitting an outstanding 0.533. Arielle Parnell hit for seven kills. For Fort Valley State LaToya Reeves led in kills and digs with six and 12 respectively. Raven Wynn passed for six assists to lead the Wildcats. The Lady Blazers conclude their season at 5-7 in the Gulf South Conference and 18-19 overall.

Lady Blazers End GSC Play with Victory

2008-11-08

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers brought Gulf South Conference play to an end for the season with a 25-20, 25-18, 27-25 victory over the Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville. The victory puts the Lady Blazers at 17-19 overall and 5-7 in conference action as they head into the last match of the season against Fort Valley State at the P.E. Complex at 7 p.m. on Monday night. Chelsea Logan and Ruthie King led the Lady Blazers with 10 kills apiece. King added 14 digs tou double up on the day. Laura Boos, in her last GSC match, had 20 digs for the Lady Blazers while Irene Hannan had 13 and Brittney Borg had 11. Kathrine Carter, also playing her last GSC match, hit for a match high of 0.364 while Logan hit 0.269. Lea Weber passed out 24 assists and Niki Patriarca, also in her last conference match, gave 11. Four Lady Blazers were in on three block assists: Logan, King, Arielle Parnell and Carter. Carter also added a solo to help VSU outblock the Chargers seven to four. For Alabama-Huntsville, Jessica Ruple had 10 kills and 20 digs while Dimery Michaels had 25 assists.

Lions Drop Lady Blazers

2008-11-07

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers fell to 16-19 on the season and 4-7 in conference play with a loss to the North Alabama Lions, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21. The Lions move on to 22-9 and 10-1 in the Gulf South headed into an important match with West Florida Saturday. For VSU, Chelsea Logan paced the team with seven kills and nine blocks, one a solo. Logan helped Valdosta State outblock North Alabama 12 to two. Lea Weber led the team in assists with 13, but Niki Patriarca pitched in eight assists with three kills on just five attempts. The only Lady Blazer to reach double digit digs was Brittney Borg with 10. North Alabama had two players with double digit kills. Whitney Sanders hit 11 while Kelly Pratt teamed her 14 kills with 10 digs for a double-double. Alison Jacobs passed out 38 assists and Jessica Hansen dug the ball 16 times. Valdosta State will see more action Saturday at 2 p.m. in the P.E. Complex against Alabama-Huntsville.

Pirates Spook Lady Blazers

2008-10-31

VALDOSTA, Ga. - In three tight sets, the Lady Blazers couldn't overcome the Pirates of Armstrong Atlantic State. VSU fell to 16-18 on the season with the loss, 25-21, 26-24, 25-22, while AASU moved on to 20-6 overall. For Valdosta State, Ruthie King led the way with 11 kills and 13 digs. Her and Laura Boos reached all night for a combined 32 digs, 19 from Boos. Irene Hannan led the team in kills with 12 and Lea Weber passed for 28 assists. Chelsea Logan had two solo rejections along with a block assist. Arielle Parnell reached for the most with five block assists. Torrie Bevolo hit for nine kills and dug the ball nine times to lead the Pirates. Hanna Segebart passed for 29 assists and threw in nine digs of her own. Marina Marinova led the team with 10 digs. VSU will get a break until Friday, November 7, when they face North Alabama at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Complex.

Logan Garners Defensive Player of the Week Honors

2008-10-29

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In the Gulf South Conference's East Division, VSU's own Chelsea Logan joined West Georgia's Andressa Martins as Players of the Week. Logan was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week in recognition of a stellar performance of 13 blocks. In Valdosta State's upset of West Alabama, Logan skied for eight rejections, one of which was a solo, to help the Lady Blazers to 11 blocks on the night. On her own, Logan only had one less block than West Alabama's nine total blocks. The 6-foot freshman from Littleton, Colo., has been more than just a defensive force for the Lady Blazers this season. At the middle blocker position Logan has put together a hitting percentage over 0.300 for three straight games now with a high of 0.391 against West Alabama. Logan is one of only two Lady Blazers to play in every game of every match this season along with Irene Hannan. She is top three on the team in kills (217) and attacks (600) while she leads in service aces (56) as well as blocks (83). She has 23 more aces than next on the team. She has reached highs of 0.600 attacking percentage against Fort Valley State, 13 kills against West Alabama and 12 kills three separate times, six aces against Saint Andrews and 10 blocks against Florida Tech. Logan averages 1.82 kills, 0.47 aces and 0.70 blocks per game for the Lady Blazers. Valdosta State will be counting on her to keep it up this Friday in a match against Armstrong Atlantic State, to be played at 6 p.m. in the P.E. Complex.

Lady Blazers Sneak Past Wolves

2008-10-28

Carrollton, Ga. - The Lady Blazers traveled to West Georgia for a Gulf South Conference matchup to stay in the hunt for a postseason appearance. Valdosta State did its job to move to 16-17 on the season and 4-6 in conference play. The Lady Blazers had to show their mettle in a match that came down to the wire. After winning the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-21, VSU would fall in the third and fourth sets by matching scores of 25-23. After falling behind in the final set, Valdosta State roared back to finish it, 16-14. Two Lady Blazers went for double-doubles in the match. Irene Hannan hit 19 kills for a 0.235 average and dug the ball 10 times. Ruthie King hit 0.226 for 17 kills and reached for 13 digs. Brittney Borg, at libero, kept VSU in the match with 17 digs while Lea Weber passed for 47 assists. Valdosta State saw four players with double digit kills. Chelsea Logan (12 kills) and Kathrine Carter (11 kills) joined Hannan and King. Logan continues to hit over 0.300 for the Lady Blazers and hit for 0.308 against the Wolves. She also went up to get four blocks while Arielle Parnell was in on three momentum-shifting blocks as the team barreled its way to 14 blocks on the night. For West Georgia, this week's GSC Player of the Week Andressa Martins went for 29 kills and 19 digs. Three others attacked for double digits and three also dug in double digits. West Georgia registered four double-doubles, one of which came from Kelli Johnson who passed for 59 assists and dug up the ball 10 times. VSU will see a short reprieve from competitive GSC action in a home match on Halloween. The Lady Blazers will host Armstrong Atlantic State at 6 p.m. in the P.E. Complex on Friday night.

Lady Blazers Take Tough Loss

2008-10-25

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State looked to follow up a big win against West Alabama with another victory against Montevallo Saturday, but it wasn't to take place. The Lady Blazers fell to 15-17 on the season and 3-6 in conference play with the loss to Montevallo. The Ravens won 25-21, 25-18, 25-22 to stay in the hunt for postseason play. For Valdosta State, three players double-doubled. Ruthie King and Irene Hannan both hit for 10 kills while King had 11 digs and Hannan dug the ball 10 times. Lea Weber passed for 30 assists and had 11 digs on the day while Laura Boos dug the ball 13 times. Chelsea Logan hit a team high 0.353 for seven kills for the match. Montevallo saw Katy Handrick hit 14 kills and Katie Johnson tally 10. Both of them double-doubled, Handrick with 18 digs and Johnson with 10. Anna Garrison passed out 23 assists and Joy Peschman gave out 16. Monika Tortorici was in on all of the team's seven blocks. Valdosta State will be looking to bounce back against West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga. at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

VSU Upsets West Alabama

2008-10-24

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers stepped up in a big way to keep their postseason hopes alive. Against West Alabama the team came out strong in the first set and continued it through the night to beat the Tigers, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 25-23, and move to 3-5 in conference play and 15-16 overall. Friday night, fans saw contributions across the board for the Lady Blazers. Ruthie King led the team in kills with 15 and doubled up with 10 digs. Chelsea Logan was just behind with 13 kills and a team high 0.391 hitting percentage. Logan also led the team in blocks with seven assists and one solo to help the team notch 11 blocks on the night. Laura Boos dove all night to rack up 14 digs. She was able to get some timely digs in the final set to keep the Lady Blazers on top. Irene Hannan put together 11 digs and Lea Weber passed for 45 assists. Kathrine Carter pitched in nine kills and five blocks. For West Alabama, Gabriela Pedrosa hit for 16 kills while two others hit for double digit kills. Alexis McHale passed out 49 assists and Jacquie Swan and Allison Nail each had nine digs to lead the team. Valdosta State will look to keep momentum on their side against Montevallo at 3 p.m. in the P.E. Complex on Saturday.

Argonauts Take Down Lady Blazers

2008-10-21

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers faced a tough test against West Florida, ranked 17th nationally, Tuesday night. Valdosta State closely contested the second and third sets, but it wasn't enough as the Argonauts won, 3-0. Irene Hannan paced VSU with 13 kills with a 0.387 hitting percentage while Chelsea Logan registered two solo blocks and an assist. Lea Weber doubled up with 32 assists and 10 digs to lead the team in both categories. Kara Gonzales led the Argos with 12 kills, and libero Jerica Carter led in digs with 10. Madeline Gonzalez passed for 39 assists and attacked at a 0.444 percentage along with Jesse Keroack to lead all players. The Lady Blazers will look to bounce back against West Alabama at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Complex on Friday night. On Saturday, VSU will face Montevallo at 3 p.m. in the Complex.

Lady Blazers Survive in Albany

2008-10-13

ALBANY, Ga. - The Lady Blazers needed a balanced performance to survive against the Albany State Golden Rams Monday night. They received it with double digit kills from Irene Hannan, Ruthie King, Chelsea Logan, Jordan Allain and Kathrine Carter to leave Albany, Ga., with a victory, 24-26, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12. The tough win gives the Lady Blazers a 14-15 record on the season. Hannan led the team in kills with 15 in addition to 14 digs. King also doubled up on 14 kills and 12 digs. Laura Boos was on the floor all night with 20 digs to lead the team. Both Carter and Hannan were in on four blocks on the night and Lea Weber passed out 59 assists. Valdosta State waited until the final set to perform the team%u2019s best with a 0.480 hitting percentage. Early in the first set, the Lady Blazers found themselves in a hole. VSU had it tough to start, and fell back, 12-8. Off the timeout, however, behind Brittney Borg's serve, the Lady Blazers scored five straight points to go ahead by one. Valdosta State carried the momentum to a three-point lead, 18-15, forcing a timeout from Albany State. The Golden Rams regained their composure during the timeout and fought back to an 18-19 score. Albany State continued to fight to an eventual 26-24 victory in the first set. In the second set, the Lady Blazers seemed to wake up a bit as they roared past the Golden Rams to a 13-8 lead early. After building an 18-12 lead, Valdosta State saw Albany State rush back to within three, 19-16. The Lady Blazers would persevere, however, to win the set, 25-21, and tie the match. Valdosta State pulled things together to race out to a 14-8 lead in the third set. The Lady Blazers wouldn't look back as they soared to a 25-18 win in the third. After a strong start to the fourth set for the Lady Blazers, the Golden Rams rallied to tie the match at 13 and go onto gain a two-point lead, 16-14. They weren't finished. In a great showing of resiliency, Albany State had an uncanny knack for finding the holes in VSU's defense throughout the fourth set to eventually win 25-19. The Lady Blazers struck first in the set to steal the momentum from the Rams and the ruckus crowd. Valdosta State couldn't keep serve though, and the two teams continued to trade blows, literally point for point to start the final set. It was 8-7, in favor of the Blazers, when both teams switched sides. VSU scored the next point to make it 9-7 and force a timeout from ASU. Allain hit the next kill to give the Blazers the first three-point lead of the set. ASU struck back the next serve though. Valdosta State rebounded to push the score to 13-9. Logan killed an assist from Weber to pull within one point of the victory. As they had all night, the Rams proved they would not go quietly. They scored three points to get to 12 before Hannan ended the match with a devastating kill down the line. Carolina Ribeiro led the Rams in assists with 48 while Davisha Moore led in digs with 20 to match Boos. Mya Snell and Eugenia King scored 14 and 12 kills respectively to lead ASU.

Lady Blazers Sweep Conference Foe

2008-10-11

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Lady Blazers showed no mercy against the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers to end the team's weekend road trip on Saturday afternoon, sweeping the match, 25-21, 25-12, 25-22. With the win, VSU moves to 2-4 in conference play and 13-15 overall. Irene Hannan went off to the tune of 21 kills and 10 digs with a hitting percentage of 0.325. Ruthie King and Chelsea Logan were right with Hannan hitting 0.429 and 0.471 for 12 and 10 kills respectively. Lea Weber even hit 0.500 for one kill on two attacks, but even more impressive were her 43 assists. Alabama-Huntsville only had 24 as a team. Laura Boos continues to pace the Lady Blazers in digs with 13. Valdosta State hit 0.310 as a team to the Chargers' 0.137. The Lady Blazers also collected six blocks with five assists from Logan and four from Hannan. VSU also returned serves excellent on the day with only one receiving error to UAH's four thanks to aces from Hannan, King, Logan and Weber. None of the Chargers were able to reach double-digit kills, but Jessica Huckabee gained nine while Allison Cousins hit for eight. Dimery Michaels led the team in assists with 23, all but one of the team%u2019s entire output. Whitney Corder led the team in digs with 11. Valdosta State continues their road play next with a match against Albany State at 6 p.m. on Monday, Columbus Day.

Lions Too Much for Lady Blazers

2008-10-10

FLORENCE, Ala. - North Alabama, undefeated in conference play, received a surprise against Valdosta State Friday night. The Lions (15-5) fell to the Lady Blazers in the first set of the match, 25-23. VSU couldn't sustain the effort though, dropping the next three sets, 25-17, 25-12, 25-18, to fall to 1-4 in the Gulf South and 12-15 overall. Irene Hannan led the Lady Blazers in kills with 11 on the night to go with nine digs. Brittney Borg led the team in digs with 13. Lea Weber passed for 33 assists and led the team in hitting percentage (.333) with two kills on six attacks. Chelsea Logan collected a solo block and two assists in the match. The Lions had three with double digit kills, but Beyaca Martin led the team with 14. Jessica Hansen dug the ball 23 times while Alison Jacobs passed for 42 assists. Valdosta State will look to rebound against Alabama-Huntsville at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Lady Blazers Sweep Wildcats Under the Rug

2008-10-06

FORT VALLEY, Ga. - The Lady Blazers moved to 12-14 on the season with a victory over the Fort Valley State Wildcats on Monday night. Valdosta State won in convincing fashion, sweeping Fort Valley, 25-20, 25-13, 25-13. Leading the Lady Blazers in kills was Chelsea Logan with nine and a 0.600 hitting percentage. Three players gained the high number in digs, six: Ruthie King, Irene Hannan and Laura Boos. It was a two-headed attack for VSU at the setter position. Lea Weber passed for 12 assists, and then Niki Patriarca passed for 15 assists in the third set alone. The early going proved to be tough for the Lady Blazers as they fell behind 11-8 in the first set. VSU went on to score five points to force a timeout from the Wildcats. The timeout would not help Fort Valley State though, as the Lady Blazers fought back to a 25-20 victory in the first set. In the second set, Valdosta State jumped out to an 8-4 lead and cruised to a 17-10 lead later in the set. VSU would only allow three more points in the set to win 25-13. The Lady Blazers increased their attacking percentage from just 0.097 in the first set to 0.333 in the second. It showed with a 12-point win. Sensing a victory, the Lady Blazers closed out strong in the third set. Behind serves mostly from Macy Markham and Kathrine Carter, Valdosta State hit an astounding 0.593 percentage to close out an impressive performance with another 25-13 win in the third set. Fort Valley State's Raven Wynn led the Wildcats in kills with eight. Collete Petties passed for 10 assists and Shanika Hoggs dug the ball four times in the loss. Next action for the Lady Blazers comes against the University of North Alabama at 8 p.m. on Friday. The team will turn around and play the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday before returning to Valdosta.

Lady Blazers Go 1-1 on Road Trip

2008-10-04

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers played a marathon of a match against Flagler on Saturday, and came out on top, 3-2, for the team's 11th win of the season. Later in the day, VSU fell to Barry in four sets to fall to 11-14. After dropping a match to Flagler earlier this season, the Lady Blazers traveled to the Saints' house and took care of business. Valdosta State won the second, third and fifth sets to take the match 3-2 from Flagler, 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13. VSU was able to gain a little bit of vengeance in the heated contest. Irene Hannan doubled up in the match with a match high of 18 kills paired with 13 digs. Jordan Allain also struck into double digit kills with 11. Laura Boos continued to get under the ball for 17 digs, also a match high. Lea Weber passed for 44 assists while Kathrine Carter was able to get her hands up on five blocks. The Blazers hit a 0.389 for the fifth set to close out the match on top. A three-headed monster of Boos, Chelsea Logan and Ruthie King helped the Lady Blazers on their way to 18 service aces. Five came from King with four each from Logan and Boos. Five more combined aces came from Hannan, Weber and Brittney Borg. For Flagler, two players double-doubled while three attacked for double digit kills. Leah Melton collected 16 kills, but Justine Burkhardt led the team with 17 kills paired with 11 digs while Meg Weathersby hit for 15 kills and dug the ball up 12 times to lead the Saints. Rebecca Royal passed for 32 assists in the match. Against Barry, the Lady Blazers still showed up strong. King double-doubled with 11 kills and 10 digs while Hannan led the team again with 13 kills. Weber passed for 44 assists again while Boos led the team with 14 digs. It would not be enough, however, as VSU fell, 25-21, 29-31, 25-21, 25-19. Camilla Pagnan led the Buccaneers in kills with 16 while Lauren Evans dug the ball 20 times. Julie Priester passed for 33 assists in the win. The Lady Blazers will play Fort Valley State next at 7 p.m. in Fort Valley, Ga. on Monday. Flagler Box Score Barry Box Score

Lady Blazers Pick up Conference Victory

2008-09-30

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Tuesday night, the Lady Blazers picked up their first conference win of the season to move to 10-13 on the season and 1-3 in Gulf South Conference play. The West Georgia Wolves entered the PE Complex at 1-1 in the conference, but Valdosta State used four games to hand the Wolves their second GSC loss, 27-25, 25-21, 10-25, 25-16 and drop them to 5-12 on the season. The Lady Blazers hit a 0.441 hitting percentage in the fourth set to capture their largest margin of victory on the night, 25-16. In the second set, with the score tied at 14, Chelsea Logan went on a run of four consecutive aces to move the score to 18-14, and eventually 25-21. Irene Hannan registered 21 kills and 10 digs while Ruthie King also doubled up with 12 kills and 13 digs. King even managed an assist on the night. Lea Weber attacked for the best percentage (0.400) for the Blazers and passed for 56 assists. She had two kills and nine digs for VSU. One could say Laura Boos wiped the floor with the Wolves as she collected 17 digs. For West Georgia, Andressa Martins led all players in kills with 23 on a 0.475 hitting percentage. Kelli Johnson passed for 37 assists and dug the ball 10 times. West Georgia had three others with double digit digs, leading the way was Martins and Stephene Cash with 13. Valdosta State will look to keep the momentum up from the team%u2019s first conference victory since 2006 as the team heads to St. Augustine, Fla., for a double header with Flagler and Barry on Saturday.

Lady Blazers Lose to Lions, Fighting Knights

2008-09-27

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State played two of the toughest teams the Sunshine State Conference has to offer on Saturday, Lynn and Saint Leo. In both matches, the Lady Blazers fell. Lynn won 25-12, 25-19, 25-22 while Saint Leo prevailed 25-19, 26-24, 25-21. VSU played inspired in the second and third sets of each match. The Lady Blazers flashed the potential that fans have seen in previous tournaments. They could not sustain it for the entire match, but there were highlights. Against Saint Leo Ruthie King hit for 16 kills, and Lea Weber passed for 34 assists. Two Lady Blazers reached double digit digs. Irene Hannan had 12 to go with nine kills and libero Brittany Borg dug the ball up 10 times. The team also outblocked Lynn, an impressive feat, eight to 7.5 with King and Kathrine Carter each registering solos. Carter and Hannan led the team in kills against Lynn with seven. Weber passed for 22 assists and Hannan dug the ball nine times. For Saint Leo, Michelle Nogueras triple doubled with 11 kills, 29 assists and 10 digs. Amanda Cook led with 14 digs while Jenna Jordan was able to get under the ball 12 times. Audrey Starkebaum contributed 10 kills for the Lions. Daris Rodriguez led Lynn with 11 kills and Christie Schade shared the lead in digs with Lacy Redwine (8). The Fighting Knights distributed the ball well with 15 assists coming from Devon Woolard and 12 from Megan Bedner. The Lady Blazers will be in action next against West Georgia at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the PE Complex. Lynn Box Score Saint Leo Box Score

Tough Going for Lady Blazers in Tourney

2008-09-26

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State faced two strong teams from the Sunshine State Conference on Friday, the opening day of the Courtyard by Marriott VSU Crossover tournament. In the first match, VSU fell to Florida Tech, 25-17, 25-23, 25-22. In the second, the team lost to Rollins, 26-24, 25-16, 25-19. Against Florida Tech, Ruthie King stood out. She led the team in kills and digs with 10 and six respectively. She also attacked at the highest percentage, 0.421, for Valdosta State. Lea Weber passed for 27 assists in the match while Kathrine Carter and Irene Hannan contributed on two shared blocks. Florida Tech hit a whopping 0.560 percentage in the first set and continued to hit well throughout the match. Sacha Gumbs led the team with 15 kills while Aysha Nickels passed for 39 assists and led the team in digs with seven. The story did not change much for the Lady Blazers in the second match of the day. In the first set, neither team hit well. Rollins hit for 0.194 and VSU hit for 0.029 in the first frame. Rollins bounced back to hit 0.458 in both the following sets to finish the sweep. Both Hannan and King killed the ball 10 times. Laura Boos joined the two to all get six digs a piece to lead the team. Nikki Hartman ran away in kills with 18. She was the only Rollins Tar to hit double figures in kills. Lacey Malarky passed for 30 assists and Phoebe Corder gained 12 digs. Valdosta State looks to take on the Lynn Fighting Knights and the Saint Leo Lions, two of the toughest teams the Sunshine State Conference has to offer, on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. respectively. VSU fans can find both matches webcasted at vstateblazers.tv. Florida Tech Box Score Rollins Box Score

Courtyard by Marriott VSU Crossover Kicks Off

2008-09-25

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State will host the Courtyard by Marriott VSU Crossover volleyball tournament throughout this weekend. Eight teams from two of the toughest Division II conferences in the country will be competing at a high level. From the Gulf South Conference will be Valdosta State, Alabama-Huntsville, Montevallo and West Georgia. Rollins, Saint Leo, Florida Tech and Lynn will be competing for the Sunshine State Conference. Matches start at 11 a.m. on Friday with Montevallo facing Saint Leo on court one and West Georgia to take on Lynn on court two. Match times after that will run as close to schedule and will start at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. For Saturday, match times are 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. For the full schedule, click here. All Valdosta State matches will be webcasted at vstateblazers.tv. Those matches include VSU against Florida Tech at 1 p.m. on Friday, vs. Rollins at 6 p.m. Friday, vs. Lynn at 11 a.m. Saturday and against Saint Leo at 4 p.m. on Saturday. For anyone interested in a double whammy of sports action can stop at the VSU tennis courts for the Wilson/ITA Southeastern Regional Championships.

Argonauts Handle Valdosta State

2008-09-23

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers fell to 9-9 on the season and 0-3 in the Gulf South Conference with their third conference loss of the season Tuesday night. The West Florida Argonauts move to 9-5 on the season after sweeping VSU, 25-20, 25-20, 25-15. Kathrine Carter, usually a premier blocker for the Lady Blazers, finished second on the team in kills with 10 for a 0.529 hitting percentage, while Irene Hannan led with 12. Ruthie King finished with five kills but led the team with 10 digs. Hannan and Brittney Borg finished with seven digs each. Lea Weber continues a stellar freshman season with 33 assists on the night. The effort would not be enough, however, as the Argos finished with a team hitting percentage of 0.330 compared to VSU's 0.161. Luciana Rapach was a big reason with a 0.556 hitting percentage and 12 kills on the night. Madeline Gonzalez led West Florida in digs with nine and finished with 28 assists. Valdosta State will get a chance to rebound this weekend against four schools from the Sunshine State Conference. VSU will host the Courtyard by Marriott VSU Crossover volleyball tournament starting at 11 a.m. on Friday and continuing through the end of Saturday. From the Gulf South Conference will be Valdosta State, Alabama-Huntsville, Montevallo and West Georgia. From the SSC will be Lynn, Rollins, Florida Tech and Saint Leo. If you can't make it to the PE Complex for the tournament, all four VSU matches will be webcast at vstateblazers.tv.

VSU Can't Dodge Falcons

2008-09-20

Montevallo, Ala. - Valdosta State finished this weekend's road trip in Montevallo, Ala., with hope of handing the Falcons their second conference loss. The day didn't quite turn out that way. The Lady Blazers fell to 0-2 in conference play, but 9-8 on the season after being swept by Montevallo, 25-17, 25-14, 25-18. Saturday's match proved to be a tough one. Despite the rough going, the Lady Blazers hit 31 kills with 11 of them from Ruthie King. Chelsea Logan led the team in hitting percentage at 0.214 while Irene Hannan led the team in digs with 10. Lea Weber passed for 25 assists. The Montevallo Falcons outblocked Valdosta State by a margin of 10-2 on their way to a 10-4 season record and 1-1 in the Gulf South Conference. Katie Johnson led the team with nine kills and Joy Peschman passed for 32 assists and led the team in digs as well with 10. Valdosta State will continue to play on the road in the team's next match against West Florida in Pensacola, Fla., at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Valdosta State Falls to West Alabama

2008-09-19

Livingston, Ala. - The Lady Blazers fell to West Alabama in three sets, 25-13, 25-13, 25-15, Friday night. The loss puts Valdosta State at 0-1 to start conference play, but 9-7 on the season. West Alabama proved to be every bit of its 9-4 record coming into the match. The Tigers outblocked the Lady Blazers 10 to one and dominated in hitting percentage. West Alabama finished hitting 0.338 to a negative average of 0.060 for VSU. For Valdosta State, Ruthie King led with six kills, and Irene Hannan had five. Lea Weber passed for 13 assists, and Brittney Borg led the team in digs with six. Allison Nail led West Alabama with 10 kills and 10 digs. Alexis McHale passed for 29 assists and led the Tigers in hitting percentage (0.600) with three kills on just five attacks. Jessica Crook helped out on six blocks for West Alabama. The Lady Blazers will look to rebound against Montevallo at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Valdosta State Cruises Past Albany State

2008-09-17

Valdosta, Ga. - The Lady Blazers cruised to an easy victory over the Albany State Golden Rams on Wednesday night, 25-13, 25-15, 25-18. VSU was efficient in three strong sets. Chelsea Logan hit a match high 0.588 attacking percentage with 11 kills to just one error on 17 attacks. Ruthie King wasn't far behind at 0.533 with nine kills on 15 attacks. As a team, Valdosta State hit a .422 attacking percentage to Albany State's .130. Leading the Lady Blazers in kills was Irene Hannan with 15. Lea Weber passed for 38 assists and struck two of the nine total aces VSU had on the night. Logan led with three aces. Laura Boos dug the ball up 10 times and Hannan was just behind her with eight digs. Mya Snell led the Golden Rams with eight kills and Carolina Ribeiro gave out 19 assists. Ribeiro also led Albany State with seven digs. The Lady Blazers will start conference play in their next match with a road trip to West Alabama at 8 p.m. on Friday followed by Montevallo at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Lady Blazers Sweep Up at Tournament

2008-09-13

AIKEN, S.C. - The Lady Blazers completed two sweeps on Saturday to finish 3-1 at the USC-Aiken Tournament. With impressive victories over Newberry and St. Andrews, VSU moved to 8-6 on the season. Valdosta State finished second place at the tournament after tiebreakers placed USC-Aiken ahead of VSU even though both teams went 3-1. Irene Hannan and Laura Boos were named to the all-tournament team for the Lady Blazers. Despite the accolades, Head Coach Sia Poyer was more proud of the way his team played throughout Saturday. The story of Saturday's first match was Valdosta State's blocking. The Lady Blazers outblocked Newberry 11 to three with three solos from Kathrine Carter on their way to a sweep. Hannan led the team with 18 kills and 12 digs. She compiled a .350 attacking percentage. Ruthie King went for eight kills and no errors to hit .400 against Newberry, and she also dug up the ball 11 times. Lea Weber gave out 34 assists. In the first set against Newberry, the Lady Blazers used a combination of blocks and ferocious kills to jump out to a 10-6 lead. Valdosta State continued to keep the four-point lead to 19-15 before forcing a timeout from Newberry. Out of the timeout, two kills from Hannan and a Newberry error pushed the score to 22-15. The Lady Blazers used a block from Weber and Carter to end the first set, 25-19. The second set was neck and neck until VSU, under Hannan's serve, went on a run to make it 10-5. With the Lady Blazers leading 13-6, Newberry began to show frustration. The team used that to go on a run of its own to close VSU's lead to 14-11. The Lady Blazers regained control to take the second set, 25-16, and a 2-0 lead in the match. Both teams went back and forth early in the third set, but, much like the second, the Lady Blazers went on a run, this time under King's serve, to gain an 11-6 lead before forcing a timeout from Newberry. The timeout would prove to be no help to Newberry as VSU extended the lead to 16-7. The Lady Blazers ran away with the rest of the set, 25-15, to sweep Newberry. Priscila Sales and Kara Harris each killed the ball 10 times for Newberry while Nadia Andrade led the team with 10 digs. Brianna Blakely passed for 27 assists. In the next match against St. Andrews, the Lady Blazers came out hot. They raced to a 10-1 lead to start the first set, but St. Andrews battled back. It would not be enough, however, as VSU won the first set, 25-21. With much of the same action, the Lady Blazers took the second set by the same score. Two consecutive blocks and a kill by King gave the Lady Blazers a 5-1 lead to start the third set. VSU proved a penchant for riding the team's momentum as the Lady Blazers closed out strong for the second match in a row. Valdosta State took the third set with ease, 25-10, to complete the second sweep of the day. Hannan continued to play well, finishing with 14 kills and a .429 attacking percentage against St. Andrews. Weber passed for 23 assists. Boos and King led the team in digs with 12 and 10 respectively while Carter capped the day off with a solo block to end the second match of the day. She added two block assists against St. Andrews. Galina Podolsky finished with nine kills to lead St. Andrews, and Jaime Hayes passed for 19 assists. Hayes and Erica Davis led St. Andrews with seven digs each. The Lady Blazers will face Albany State in Valdosta, Ga., at the PE Complex on Wednesday for their next match. Newberry BOX SCORE St. Andrews BOX SCORE

Two Blazers Double-Double at USC-Aiken Tournament

2008-09-12

AIKEN, S.C. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers split in two matches to open the USC-Aiken Tournament on Friday. VSU fell to the host USC-Aiken in three sets, 26-24, 26-24, 25-22, but rebounded against the University of Charleston-West Virginia to take a win in five sets, 22-25, 25-11, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12. Both Ruthie King and Irene Hannan double doubled against Charleston, and Hannan also turned the trick against USC-Aiken. It proved to be a tough start. In the first match against VSU played three sets that came down to the very end. Valdosta State pushed the USC-Aiken Pacers to extra points in the first two sets, 26-24 in both. In the final set, the Lady Blazers scored 22 points, but it would not be enough to stay alive in the match. Hannan continued her great play with another double double (12 kills and 10 digs). Brittney Borg cleaned the floor for the Lady Blazers with 18 digs from the libero position while Lea Weber passed for 31 assists. King and Chelsea Logan each registered three solo blocks while Kathrine Carter pitched in with two solos and an assist. Theo Marshall led the Pacers with nine kills while Jessica Loper and Stefanie Durham each registered seven. Lauren Cedeno passed for 18 assists, but Whitney Tabbert dished for 15. Durham dug the ball up 10 times to lead the Pacers while Marshall and Chelsey Kight with two solo blocks. It was a different match for Valdosta State against Charleston. After dropping the first set, the Lady Blazers grabbed control by winning two consecutive sets. The Lady Blazers fell in the fourth set, but stood strong throughout the rest of the match to snag it in five. Weber passed for 49 assists while Borg dug the ball 14 times. Jordan Allain killed the ball 14 times, and Carter finished with five blocks, one of which was a solo rejection. The real story of the match was the VSU duo of Hannan and King. Hannan finished with 20 kills and 20 digs. King matched Hannan's digs and contributed 13 kills of her own. Lacy Rowe killed the ball 11 times and Cara Hibbs-Leyva contributed on five block assists for Charleston. Katie Williams passed for 37 assists and dug the ball up 18 times. Tournament action continues on Saturday for the Lady Blazers with matches against Newberry and St. Andrews. USC-Aiken BOX SCORE Charleston-West Virginia BOX SCORE

Tritons Too Much for VSU

2008-09-10

Valdosta, Ga. - The Lady Blazers hosted Eckerd Wednesday night sandwiched between two road trips to tournaments in Florida and South Carolina. Eckerd came prepared and won in four sets, 25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, to drop the Lady Blazers to 5-5 on the season. Irene Hannan continued to show her attacking prowess with 12 kills to lead the Lady Blazers, but she doubled up with 12 digs. Ruthie King led the team in digs with 13, and Chelsea Logan led all players in attack percentage with six kills on 15 attempts for a 0.267 percentage. She also lead the team in blocks with three assists and one solo. Lea Weber led all players with 27 assists. VSU played a strong second set to stay in the match. The Lady Blazers scored more than 20 points in sets four and five, but it would not be enough to defeat the Tritons. Lydee Benoit led all players with 13 kills for Eckerd while Kristy Busse dug the ball up 10 times. Megan Golovkin passed for 12 assists while Brianne Smith gave 18. There were three Tritons with three blocks. Keisha Carter and Ariana Chinn collected three solo blocks while Allegra Shaw blocked twice and had one assisted block. The Tritons had one more block than VSU. Valdosta State will look to bounce back at the University of South Carolina-Aiken Volleyball Tournament this weekend. BOX SCORE

VSU Breaks Even at Florida Tech Invitational

2008-09-06

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Valdosta State finished tournament play at the Florida Tech Invitational with a sweep of Northwood University, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19. The win helped VSU finish 2-2 at the Florida Tech Invitational and 5-4 on the season. Irene Hannan led the Lady Blazers in kills with 11, but Ruthie King hit the ball for six kills and no errors to attain a .500 attack percentage. Niki Patriarca passed out 25 assists while Laura Boos dug the ball up 10 times to be the only Lady Blazer with double digit digs. Rebecka Ohman was the only Northwood player with double digit kills (10). Cody Kiraly led the team with 10 assists and Kelly Bruce dug the ball 10 times. Once Valdosta State returns to Valdosta, they will prepare to face Eckerd College on Wednesday at the PE Complex.

VSU Drops One to Undefeated Lions

2008-09-06

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Lady Blazers stole one set from the undefeated Saint Leo Lions, but that would not be enough as they fell, 25-14, 20-25, 25-13, 25-17. Ruthie King paced VSU with 13 kills while Irene Hannan double-doubled with 11 kills and digs. Laura Boos continued to perform well defensively for the Lady Blazers with 12 digs. Lea Weber also double-doubled with 11 digs and 37 assists. VSU started Saturday with a kill from Kathrine Carter for the first point of the match. After that, the first set proved to be a challenge. Saint Leo jumped out to a 16-7 lead, and didn't look back for the rest of the first frame. The Lions took the first set by a score of 25-14. The Lady Blazers came out in the second set with a renewed vigor. After grabbing a 7-4 lead early in the set, VSU forced a timeout from the Lions. The timeout would not help, as the Lady Blazers extended the lead to 11-4. Saint Leo started to charge back to take the lead 14-13. Head Coach Sia Poyer called a timeout that proved effective as the Lady Blazers came out on a 6-1 run to make it 19-15. Saint Leo proved resilient in the second set as they scored two more points, but VSU's King stopped them with three consecutive kills to make it 22-17. Finally, with an ace from King, the Lady Blazers tied the match, 1-1. Morgan Wyatt attacked for a kill to start the third set, but the Lions took a 9-4 lead. It was much of the same in the set as the Lions ran away with it, 25-13, to go ahead 2-1 in the match. Both teams were neck and neck to start the fourth set. The Lions, however, were able to separate themselves to a 19-14 score. With three consecutive points culminating in a kill from Wyatt, the Lady Blazers pulled within two, 19-17. Saint Leo rebounded with six consecutive points to take the set and match. For Saint Leo, Jenna Jordan killed the ball 11 times while Michelle Nogueras dished the ball for 29 assists. Chelsea Armer dug the ball 14 times whil Amanda Cook registered 13 digs of her own. The Lady Blazers will look to rebound with a win against Northwood at 4 p.m. to finish tournament play at the Florida Tech Invitational.

Lady Blazers Sweep to Start Florida Tech Invitational

2008-09-05

MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Lady Blazers started the Florida Tech Invitational with an impressive sweep of the Converse Valkyries, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18. In a match that saw every healthy Lady Blazer play, VSU set the tone. VSU registered 36 kills with 12 coming from Irene Hannan. Niki Patriarca passed out 21 assists. The Lady Blazers dug the ball 38 times, and Laura Boos led the team with eight. After falling behind early in the first set, the Lady Blazers went on a streak to gain a 22-15 edge, and eventually win the first set by a score of 25-17. Hannan and Chelsea Logan scored the final point with a powerful block. Valdosta State continued the team's strong play early in the second set, gaining a 10-5 lead, until the Valkyries stormed back to tie the set at 12-12, and eventually lead 14-12. A kill by VSU's Logan helped the Lady Blazers get back on track. With another kill by Hannan, VSU tied it up in the second set. Once the Lady Blazers pushed the second set score to 18-15, Converse was forced to call a timeout. VSU wasn't fazed. Later in the set, after registering another kill, Logan served an ace to help VSU onto the team's second win of the match in as many sets. Thanks to a combination of kills and blocks, VSU jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the third set, forcing a timeout from Converse. After that, It was much of the same. The Lady Blazers finished Converse off with a score of 25-18 in the third set to complete the sweep. The Lady Blazers will resume tournament play at 5 p.m. against the host, Florida Tech.

VSU Falls to Florida Tech in Five

2008-09-05

MELBOURNE, Fla. - In a thrilling match, the Lady Blazers fell to the Panthers of Florida Tech in five competitive sets, 25-12, 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 15-11. Irene Hannan led the way with a double-double: 12 kills and 12 digs. Jordan Allain joined in with 12 kills of her own and Lea Weber dished out 32 assists. Joining Hannan with double digit digs was Laura Boos with 11. The Lady Blazers fell behind early by a score of 9-1 in the first set. Afterward, it was tough to rebound. Despite a late streak of points, VSU dropped the first set, 25-12. Early in the second set, it looked to be much of the same until the Lady Blazers pulled within two of the Panthers, 15-13. VSU continued to challenge, tying the match at 20. However, it would not be enough, as VSU only scored one more point before Florida Tech won the second set, 25-21. Valdosta State gained a 9-6 lead to start the third set. The Lady Blazers continued on to a 16-13 advantage. Florida Tech threatened during VSU's set point twice, but the Lady Blazers pulled out the third set, 25-22. In the fourth set, the Blazers and Panthers went back and forth to a score of 10-9 in favor of VSU. The Lady Blazers continued their strong play to an 18-14 lead with contributions from many players. With the score 23-18, the Panthers mounted a comeback to make the score 23-21 in favor of the Lady Blazers. With two errors from the Panthers, VSU took the victory in the fourth set, 25-21. The Lady Blazers continued to ride the momentum to an early 7-1 lead to start the fifth and final set. Florida Tech stormed back to tie the set at 8, forcing a timeout from Head Coach Sia Poyer. Out of the timeout, the two teams continued to trade blows to an 11-11 tie. At that point, the Panthers took control, and eventually the match, to win 15-11. Frankie Brown led the Panthers with 15 kills while Marcela Vasconcelos gave 27 assists. Shelby DeNeice and Angie Lassman dug the ball up 11 times. The Lady Blazers resume tournament action at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Saint Leo.

Lady Blazers Fall to Flagler in Four Sets

2008-09-02

Valdosta, Ga. - In the Lady Blazers' first match since their successful outing at the Patriot Invitational, they fell to the Flagler Saints by scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20. VSU competed strongly throughout each set, reaching 20 points all but once. Ruthie King showed up strongest for the Lady Blazers with 12 kills and 17 digs. Not far behind was Irene Hannan with nine kills on 29 attempts for the highest VSU attacking percentage (.138). Laura Boos matched Hannan in digs with 10 each. Niki Patriarca led the way in distributing the ball for VSU with 28 assists. Katie Beale paced the Saints with 18 kills and 13 digs, but not far behind was Justine Burkhardt with 17 kills and 14 digs. Rebecca Royal passed out 20 assists while Sarah Spraggins gained 12 digs. The Lady Blazers will next be in action in Melbourne, Fla., for the Florida Tech Invitational. They will face Converse College, Northwood University, the Florida Institute of Technology and Saint Leo. The next home match will be September 10, against Eckerd College.

VSU Finishes 3-1 at Patriot Invitational

2008-08-30

FLORENCE, S.C. - The VSU Lady Blazers snagged two wins on the second day of tournament play at the Patriot Invitational at Francis Marion. In five games, the Lady Blazers beat Arkansas-Monticello and then VSU swept the Concord Lady Lions to move to 3-1 on the season. To start Saturday, the Lady Blazers disposed of the Arkansas-Monticello Blossoms in a close match. Valdosta State gained victories in the first, third and fifth games with 25-21, 25-23 and 15-9 wins. The Blossoms won the second and fourth games by scores of 25-17 and 25-22. Irene Hannan registered 14 kills and 19 digs. Morgan Wyatt dug the ball up 14 times while Chelsea Logan earned 12 kills. The top performers for the Blazers were Laura Boos with 32 digs and Niki Patriarca with 38 assists. Head Coach Sia Poyer said senior Kathrine Carter was able to earn two solo blocks to reach match point in game five. "Kathrine is an experienced player for us," Poyer said. "She is a great role player we know we can rely on." The Lady Blazers did not fall off in their second match of the day, beating Concord 25-18, 25-18 and 25-15. Hannan continued her great performance on Saturday with 17 kills and nine digs while Brittney Borg contributed 14 digs. Lea Weber posted 38 assists. "For our first weekend, I'm happy," said Poyer. "To come out of this tournament 3-1 is a good confidence builder as we get ready to face Flagler." VSU will host Flagler at the PE Complex in Valdosta, Ga. on Tuesday, September 2, at 6 p.m. VSU vs UAM VSU vs Concord

Lady Blazers Split to Start Patriot Invitational

2008-08-29

FLORENCE, S.C. - The Lady Blazers forced a split on the first day of the Patriot Invitational, falling to the Francis Marion Patriots, 25-17, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16, but sweeping the Converse Valkyries by scores of 25-17, 25-9, 25-21. Despite the loss, the Lady Blazers had a great showing. Niki Patriarca led all players with 38 assists, while Brittney Borg did the same with 13 digs. Ruthie King registered her first double-double of the season with 15 kills for a game high and 12 digs. Later in the day, the Lady Blazers displayed a powerful offense versus the Valkyries, registering 35 kills and only five attack errors. Patriarca continued to pass well with 18 assists, but Emelia Saulter joined her with 12 assists of her own. King and Borg both registered six digs while Morgan Wyatt forced 10 kills. Play continues throughout Saturday at the Patriot Invitational. The Lady Blazers will face conference opponent Arkansas-Monticello in a non-conference battle at 11 a.m., and also take on Concord at 5 p.m. VSU vs. Francis Marion VSU vs. Converse

Lady Blazers Get Started at Swamp Fox Tourney

2008-08-25

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Head Coach Sia Poyer looks for a strong start for the Lady Blazers at the Francis Marion Swamp Fox Volleyball Tournament in Florence, S.C. this weekend. Seasoned stalwarts and first time freshmen will team up to try to grab the Lady Blazers' first win of the 2008 season. Captain Laura Boos will lead the team from the libero position. She is a mature and valuable player for VSU, and Poyer says she is looking even better this season. Boos is the top passer on the team, and Poyer wants her to take as many first balls as possible this season. Brittney Borg steps in as a second libero, and Poyer likes what she can bring to the team. He has also added freshman Macy Markham, who can play center and left back. Blazer fans will see a new face at the middle blocker position this season. Chelsea Logan is a 6-foot freshman that is long and athletic. "We're expecting quite a bit from Chelsea," said Poyer. She'll be joined in the middle by Kathrine Carter and Arielle Parnell. Despite the new face in the middle, the outside hitters will be the same. Ruthie King and Irene Hannan look to build on their freshman seasons as returning starters. Watch out for newcomer Jordan Allain, who is a capable offensive threat. Poyer said she has been a big surprise for the Blazers. Morgan Wyatt is a right side hitter that Poyer will count on for vocal leadership. The junior college transfer is a lefty with a fast arm. She has a high volleyball IQ, according to Poyer, and she will be another player that can put points up on the board. Niki Patriarca will set up all the offensive firepower. The senior brings quite a bit of experience in Poyer's system. She is a smart player with a good understanding of the game, according to Poyer. Behind her will be Emelia Saulter and Lea Weber. Saulter has had a strong preseason, and Weber brings a little bit of athleticism to the team. "She's a good leaper that brings a big block," said Poyer. Poyer and graduate assistant Tara Nelson will see what the Lady Blazers can do this season, starting with Francis Marion at 2 p.m. in Florence, S.C. on Friday. For season passes please contact Chuck Carson at chcarson@valdosta.edu or at (229) 333-5890.

Volleyabll Releases 2008 Schedule

2008-05-14

VALDOSTA, Ga.- Head Coach Sia Poyer has officially announced the Valdosta State Volleyball schedule for the 2008 season. "We are looking forward to this season", Poyer said. "We are going to be playing a lot more home games this year and the teams we are playing are all very competitive." The Lady Blazers open their season at the Francis Marion Tournament in Florence, SC at the end of August where they will take on Francis Marion, Converse, Arkansas-Monticello and Concord. VSU plays their first home game on September 2 at 6 pm against Flagler in the PE Complex, followed by a trip to Melbourne, Fla. where they will take part in the Florida Tech Tournament. The team will face opponents from Converse, Florida Tech, Saint Leo and Northwood. After two home games on September 10th and 17th against Eckerd and Albany State, VSU opens up Gulf South Conference play at West Alabama on September 19th. The Lady Blazers then travel to Montevallo and West Florida. For the first time ever, VSU is hosting a Crossover with GSC and Sunshine State Schools, the Courtyard by Marriott VSU Crossover Tournament, where teams from both conferences will face each other. Gulf South Conference teams include Alabama-Huntsville, Montevallo and West Georgia while the SSC teams are Rollins, Saint Leo, Florida Tech and Lynn. Poyer and his team are excited about the tournament. "This tournament is a great way for the GSC and SSC schools to play each other, since most of us are so far away from one another. It's also a bonus that the games we now play against SSC schools count as in-region games so a win could really help our regional ranking." After the home tournament, VSU hosts their first GSC game against West Georgia on September 30th at 7 pm in the PE Complex. VSU then has a six-game road trip where they will take on non-conference Flagler, Barry, Fort Valley and Albany State as well as North Alabama and Alabama-Huntsville. Poyer and the Lady Blazers will hold their annual VSU Blazer Volleyball Alumni Match on Homecoming Saturday at 10 am. The team returns to action on October 21 at 6 pm when they host West Florida. VSU keeps the GSC action going on October 24th and 25th when they host West Alabama and Montevallo. In their final road game of the regular season, VSU travels to UWG on October 28th only to return home on the 31st to take on Armstrong Atlantic State at 6 pm. Wrapping up GSC play, VSU hosts North Alabama and UAH on November 7th and 8th, respectively. Senior Night will be on November 10th against Fort Valley State, marking the final home game of the year. The GSC Tournament begins on November 14th and the NCAA Tournament starts on November 20th. "The girls are really excited about this upcoming year. We have a great group of girls returning and some impressive newcomers," stated Poyer. "It is going to be a great season."

Volleyball To Hold Spring Outdoor Volley Fest

2008-04-09

The Blazer volleyball team is holding their annual Spring Outdoor Volley Fest on April 25th and 26th. If you want to have fun, meet people, listen to music and play some volleyball then sign up now! There are three divisions, allbeing coed (must have atleast one girl on the team). The first division is an Open Division for the more serious player (you know who Misty May is). The second is the A Division, for the semi serious player (you want work on your tan!) and the third is the Recreational Division, for those who are just happy to get a T-shirt! There will be prizes for 1st place in each division. Stop by the Volleyball Office, located in the PE Complex or call 333-5894 to get in touch with Head Coach Sia Poyer. If email works best, email him at impoyer@valdosta.edu. The entry deadline is Wednesday, April 23 at 2 pm. Entry fee is $15 per player. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE FLYER

Blazer Volleyball Camp 2008

2008-03-19

The Valdosta State volleyball team is holding the annual Blazer Volleyball Camp from July 6-10th, 2008. The camp is designed to develop players' skills and allow them to experience drills and instruction from the Blazer volleyball coaching staff. AGE: 10-18 years old COST: Campers can choose to be an overnight camper (camper will experience dorm life, staying over each night on campus) that is $236 (includes meals). A commuter camper (will not stay the night in the dorm, but will be eating at Palms Dining Center) is $180. REGISTRATION: Overnight campers may be checked into Lowndes Hall as early as 5 pm on Sunday, July 6th. Commuting campers may check into the PE Complex between 6:30-7 pm. CONTACT: Please contact head Coach Sia Poyer for any questions at 229-333-5894 (office) or at 229-560-9199 (cell) Please download and print the Camp Brochure below. The release of waiver of liability medical history form is included. Brochure Page 1 Brochure Page 2

Women's Volleyball To Hold Tryouts

2008-02-29

VALDOSTA, Ga- The Valdosta State women's volleyball team will be holding tryouts for the 2008 season. WHEN: April 5, 2008 WHERE: The P.E. Complex TIME: 1-3 pm WHAT TO BRING: Each student has to have completed the on-line player information form and must download, complete and get notarized the VSU Tryout Waiver Form. WHERE TO GET THE FORMS: The on-line player form can be found on the women's volleyball page at the top of the page labeled "On-line player form". The VSU Tryout Waiver Form can also be found at the top of the women's volleyball page labeled "VSU Tryout Waiver Form" or just go to the Sports Medicine page, click on forms, and then VSU Tryout Waiver. CONTACT: If you have any questions, please contact Coach Sia Poyer. His email is impoyer@valdosta.edu or call him in the office at 229-333-5894 or on his cell phone at 229-560-9199. Good luck to all!

Volleyball Concludes 2007 Season

2007-11-06

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team concluded the 2007 season with a win over Albany State on Monday night in the PE Complex, and gave Stephanie Kirrstetter over 400 kills in her sophomore season. The Lady Blazers ended the year with a 10-25 overall record and a 0-12 Gulf South Conference mark. The 2007 roster consisted of five freshmen, two sophomores and three juniors. Kirrstetter led all players with 407 kills, averaging 3.45 kills per game. She also had 396 digs, 42 blocks and a team high 41 aces. The sophomore had a season high 24 kills on August 31 and a season high 25 digs on September 15. She led the team with 17 double-doubles. Second on the team in kills, Irene Hannan tallied 374 kills, averaging 2.99 kills per game. The freshman, who red-shirted last season, also had 37 aces, 404 digs, 61 blocks and had 11 double-doubles on the season. She had a season high 18 kills on September 11 and 23 digs on September 15. Ruthie King led all newcomers with 362 kills. She started out the season at the right-side hitter position and then changed to the outside hitter position more than halfway through the season. King averaged 2.90 kills per game, 26 aces, 261 digs and 63 blocks. The freshman had 12 double-doubles and a season high 18 kills against Albany State. Kathrine Carter had a season high 13 kills on October 26 and had 212 kills on the season with a 1.80 kills per game average. She had 21 aces and led the team in blocks with 110 total blocks and 31 solo blocks. Freshman Arielle Parnell started in every game for the Lady Blazers this season, averaging 1.66 kills per game (207 total kills). She had 19 solo blocks and tallied 99 total blocks. Parnell had a season high 13 kills on October 1. Emelia Saulter played in 93 games this year and had 27 kills while grabbing a team high 862 assists (9.27 assists per game). The freshman also had 173 digs and 22 aces. She had a season high 53 assists on September 15. Niki Patriarca played in 61 games this year and grabbed 498 assists on the season (8.16 assists per game). The junior also had 14 aces, 92 digs and 15 total blocks. Niki had 53 assists on October 5. Laura Boos transfered from Scotsdale Community College in Arizona and took the starting role as libero and had a team high 493 digs (3.94 digs per game). She also had 28 aces on the year while grabbing 25 double-figure dig games. She had a season high 29 digs on September 15. Sophomore Brittney Borg played in 67 games in 2007 and had eight aces, and 85 digs (1.27 digs per game). Borg had a season high 12 digs on September 14. Chelsea Proffitt had a season high 10 kills against West Alabama on November 3. The freshman had 23 kills on the season and five digs. The Lady Blazers are coached by Sia Poyer who just finished his third season as head coach.

Volleyball Wins Final Match of the Season

2007-11-05

VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State volleyball team won their final game of the season, defeating Albany State in four games on Monday night in the PE Complex. The Lady Blazers (10-25) played a great first game, going up by as many as seven that included a kill from Irene Hannan and a block assist from Arielle Parnell and Niki Patriarca. Albany State (14-12) tried to squirm back into the game with an ace and a block but VSU came out on top, winning 30-24. The Lady Blazers tallied 18 kills in the game and had a .318 hitting percentage with only four errors. In game two, VSU had a 7-5 lead that included three aces from Stephanie Kirrstetter. VSU let ASU take a 13-12 lead before finally regaining the lead and never letting go of it as they cruised through the rest of the game, downing the Golden Rams 30-25. Valdosta State had a brief lead in game three after another ace from Kirrstetter, but several Lady Blazer errors gave Albany State a 16-13 advantage. Valdosta State managed to steal back a 26-24 lead after two kills from Kirrstetter and Hannan but two kills from ASU gave them the lead and never looked back as ASU won game three 31-29. Game four allowed the Lady Blazers to maintain the lead the entire game, going up by as many as 10 in the first half with an 18-8 lead that included four service points from Brittney Borg and a kill from Kathrine Carter. Emelia Saulter then came to the line and served four points that included a kill from Parnell and Kirrstetter. VSU breezed through the rest of the game, winning 30-21. Kirrstetter led all players with 21 kills and 18 digs, picking up her 16th double-double of the season, and added a season high six aces. Ruthie King tallied her 12th double-double with 18 kills and 14 digs, Carter had 10 kills while Hannan contributed 14 kills. Saulter ended the night with 32 assists while Patriarca had 29. Laura Boos had nine digs. As a team, VSU had 73 kills, 36 errors and 180 attempts to leave them with a .206 hitting percentage, the best they have hit in 20 games. The Lady Blazers also tallied 11 aces, 58 digs and four blocks. Shawanna Hill led Albany State with 14 kills. Valdosta State concluded their season with a 10-25 overall mark and a 0-12 Gulf South Conference record.

West Alabama Edges Lady Blazers

2007-11-03

VALDOSTA, Ga- Stephanie Kirrstetter picked up a game high 24 kills in VSU's last Gulf South Conference match of the season against West Alabama. Valdosta State fell to the Tigers in four games. The Lady Blazers (9-25, 0-12) started off slow in the first game, falling 30-13. Game two appeared to start off the same way as VSU was down 4-1 but came back and tied the game at five with great defense. Valdosta State took their first lead of the game with a kill by Ruthie King and had the lead the rest of the game. UWA (26-5, 8-4) pulled within one point at 20-19 but kills by Chelsea Proffitt, King and Kirrstetter gave them a four-point advantage. VSU sailed through the rest of the game, winning 30-27. VSU went up 3-1 in game three but West Alabama tied it at 11. With several VSU errors, the Tigers took a 23-16 lead. A kill by Kirrstetter gave the Lady Blazers some momentum as Brittney Borg's ace and a kill by Arielle Parnell tied the game at 29. But UWA pushed ahead and won the game off a service and hitting error by the Lady Blazers (30-29). Game four was a see-saw battle between the two teams with VSU taking an early 10-8 lead. UWA rallied back to take the lead and never looked back, winning game four 30-23. VSU had 15 kills in the game and only six errors. Kirrstetter led all players wtih 24 kills and also had 15 digs, her 16th double-double of the season. Proffitt had a season high 10 kills in the game while King had eight kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Laura Boos had 11 digs while Niki Patriarca and Emelia Saulter each had 24 assists. As a team, VSU had 55 kills, 37 errors and 169 attempts, leaving them with a .107 hitting percentage. They also tallied 70 digs and eight blocks. Ana Gabriela Pedrosa led UWA with 15 kills and 12 digs. The Lady Blazers play their final game of the season on Monday night against Albany State at 6 pm in the PE Complex.

Volleyball Drops Conference Match To Montevallo

2007-11-02

VALDOSTA, Ga.- In their second to last Gulf South Conference match of the season, the Valdosta State volleyball team fell to the University of Montevallo in three games on Friday night in the PE Complex. The Lady Blazers (9-24, 0-11)were searching for their first conference win of the season against UM (11-26, 4-7) who was just shy of making the GSC Tournament this year. Despite Stephanie Kirrstetter's six kills in the first game, VSU fell 30-15 in game one. The Lady Blazers allowed Montevallo to grab 14 kills with only two errors, allowing for a .522 hitting percentage. Game two was not much different as VSU trailed the entire game. VSU was down by as many as eight in the first half of the match before finally falling 30-13. Ruthie King had four kills in the game and the Lady Blazers had 11 hitting errors. With a renewed spirit, VSU took a commanding 7-1 lead in game three that included two kills from Irene Hannan, Kirrstetter and an ace from Arielle Parnell. Their lead was not safe for long as the Falcons went on an offensive run, tying the game at 16. The rest of the game was a see-saw battle that could go either way. VSU was down by as many as four (26-22) after UM had two kills but came back to tie the game at 28 with a block assist from King and Kirrstetter. A kill by Montevallo's Katy Hendrick put the Falcons up one but a kill from King tied the game up at 29. The Montevallo offense was too much for Valdosta State to handle as UM took the next two points, winning the game 31-29. Kirrstetter led the Lady Blazers with 12 kills and nine digs while King was right behind her with 11 kills and nine digs. Emelia Saulter had 19 assists while Hannan had eight kills. As a team, VSU had 39 kills, 29 errors and 114 attempts, leaving them with a .088 hitting percentage. They also tallied 34 digs, seven blocks, seven ball handling errors and eight serve receive errors. Montevallo was led by Hendrick who had 16 kills and Lauren Tortorici who had 11 kills. As a team, UM had 43 kills, 11 errors and 92 attempts, giving them a .248 hitting percentage. The Falcons tallied 40 digs, eight service aces and 11 team blocks. Valdosta State plays their final GSC match tomorrow afternoon at 1 pm in the PE Complex against West Alabama.

North Alabama Roars over Lady Blazers 3-0

2007-10-27

FLORENCE, Ala.- The Valdosta State volleyball team dropped their tenth conference match this season against North Alabama in three games on Saturday afternoon. North Alabama (18-14, 8-3) dominated the entire match, defeating the Lady Blazers (9-23, 0-10) 30-15 in game one. VSU only tallied nine kills compared to UNA's 14. Game two was more or less the same, with UNA grabbing 15 kills and no errors while VSU had nine kills and seven errors. VSU lost 30-12. Even though VSU only had seven hitting errors in game three, UNA only had five while they had 14 kills in 41 attempts, hitting .220 on the game. UNA defeated VSU 30-21. No Lady Blazers tallied double-figure kills with Irene Hannan and Ruthie King leading the team with seven each. Laura Boos had 11 digs. As a team, VSU had 25 kills, 22 errors and 93 attempts giving them a .032 hitting percentage. UNA had 43 ills, seven errors and 96 attempts, leaving them with a .373 hitting percentage. Valdosta State also had two blocks and 38 digs. The Lady Blazers return home on November 2 to take on Montevallo at 7 pm in the PE Complex.

Volleyball Drops 3-1 Match To Alabama-Huntsville

2007-10-26

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- The Valdosta State volleyball team dropped their ninth Gulf South Conference game on Friday night to Alabama-Huntsville, falling 3-1 to the Chargers. Game one was a see-saw battle with both teams taking turns with the lead. Alabama-Huntsville had a 23-22 lead over the Lady Blazers (9-22, 0-9) until VSU scored four straight points that included kills from Arielle Parnell and Stephanie Kirrstetter. UAH answered right back with four straight points of their own to take a 27-25 lead. After a block assist from Parnell and Ruthie King, Valdosta State tied it up at 27 but the Chargers took the next two points and despite a kill from Niki Patriarca that only put VSU down by one, a hitting error by VSU gave Huntsville the game, 30-28. The second game started off much like the first with both teams sharing the lead. The Lady Blazers went on a 5-0 run, putting them up 12-9 and included kills from Kirrstetter and Parnell. UAH turned around to score five straight points of their own, but VSU battled back and got within one point. Either team could have run away with the game but the Huntsville offense was too much for the VSU defense to handle as the Chargers took game two 30-27. Valdosta State was up 4-0 in game three until UAH came back to tie it at 11 and took their first lead of the game after that. Making it 23-20, VSU went on a seven point run that included two aces from Patriarca and two kills from Kathrine Carter. Alabama-Huntsville tied it at 28 but King answered with three straight kills to win the game 32-30. Down 3-0 in game four, VSU rallied back to tie the game at 11. Huntsville then went up by as many as four before the Lady Blazers came back and went up 28-27 with a kill from Kirrstetter. Huntsville's offense went on a roll as the Chargers took game four 31-29. King and Carter each had season high matches with 17 and 13 kills, respectively. King also tallied 13 digs while Kirrstetter had 15 kills and 16 digs. Laura Boos had 14 digs and Niki Patriarca grabbed 48 assists. As a team, VSU tallied 59 kills and 35 errors in 169 attempts (.142 hitting percentage). VSU also had 67 digs and eight blocks. The Lady Blazers take on North Alabama tomorrow at 2 pm.

Volleyball Defeated By Flagler

2007-10-23

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team lost to Flagler College for the second time this season, falling in four games to the Saints on Tuesday night in the PE Complex. The Lady Blazers (9-21) started off slow in the first game, trailing by as many as eight. VSU had 14 kills in the game while Flagler (17-14) had 16, but the Saints only tallied six errors while the Valdosta State grabbed 12, hitting .045 and falling 30-21. VSU grabbed the first three points of game two off of three straight kills from Irene Hannan, Ruthie King and Kathrine Carter. Their lead did not last long as FC used an offensive run to take a 9-7 lead. While the Lady Blazers made several offensive errors, the Flagler lead extended to 16-8. The Saints kept the momentum and took game two 30-17. Valdosta State led the entire game three and were up by as many as four with a kill from Arielle Parnell and several FC offensive errors. Scoring six straight points that included kills from Hannan and Stephanie Kirrstetter, VSU took game three 30-21. The Lady Blazers had 21 kills in the game and only allowed Flagler to grab seven. Both teams tallied 11 kills in game four, but once again, the VSU errors cost them the game as they had 15 errors compared to FC's 5. The Lady Blazers trailed the entire game as they let the Saints take a 20-10 lead and eventually win the game 30-17. Three players had double-figure kills including King, Carter and Kirrstetter with 15, 11 and 14 kills respectively. King grabbed her tenth double-double of the season while also tallying 17 digs while Kirrstetter had her 14th double-double with 12 digs. Laura Boos had 17 digs, her 22nd time tallying double-figure digs. As a team, VSU had 56 kills and 42 errors in 176 attempts, leaving them with a .080 hitting percentage. Flagler had three less kills than the Lady Blazers but only had 24 errors in 152 attempts (.191 hitting percentage). Valdosta State also had 68 digs and nine team blocks. Flagler tallied six aces, 62 digs and 12 blocks. FC's Justine Burkhardt led all players with 16 kills and had 17 digs. The Lady Blazers take to the road this weekend, taking on Alabama-Huntsville on Friday night at 8 pm and play North Alabama at 2 pm on Saturday afternoon.

Lady Blazers Fall To West Georgia

2007-10-16

CARROLLTON, Ga. - Taking one game away from West Georgia, the Valdosta State volleyball team fell to the Wolves in four games on Tuesday night in Gulf South Conference action. The Lady Blazers (9-20, 0-8) had 12 kills in the first game and only four errors in 25 attempts, leaving them with one of their highest hitting percentages of the season (.320). With that, VSU took game one 30-26. Over the next two games, VSU combined for 14 kills, only two above their total for the first game while West Georgia (22-8, 4-3) had 10 kills in game two and 13 in game three. The Lady Blazers fell 30-17 in both games two and three. Game four was kept close but Valdosta State could not hold on with 10 kills and three errors as UWG won 30-22. Ruthie King led VSU with 12 kills and 11 digs, picking up her eighth double-double of the season. Laura Boos led the defense with 12 digs, her 20th time tallying double-figure digs. UWG's Andressa Martins and Carolin Schoeneck led all players with 15 kills each. Overall the Lady Blazers tallied 26 kills and 19 errors in 94 attempts (.181 hitting percentage) while West Georgia had 60 kills and 17 errors in 129 attempts (.333 hitting percentage). VSU also had 42 digs and seven blocks. UWG grabbed 39 digs and 13 blocks. Valdosta State has an off weekend but will resume play when they take on Flagler in the PE Complex at 6 pm on Tuesday, October 23.

Lady Blazers Fall To Rollins

2007-10-13

ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers lost their first match of the second day of the Saint Leo/Eckerd Tournament on Saturday afternoon. VSU fell to Rollins College in three games. In game one, the Lady Blazers (9-18) had 11 kills, only one less than Rollins (14-11) but still lost 30-25. Game two was very close but RC used 18 kills to win 30-27 over VSU. The Lady Blazers only hit .061, tallying 13 kills and 10 errors in 49 attempts. With their highest hitting pecentage of the game (.204), the Lady Blazers hoped to win the third game, but the Rollins offense was too much as they had 14 kills and only one error. VSU had 21 kills and 11 errors. Ruthie King grabbed a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs while Irene Hannan led the Lady Blazers with 14 kills. Stephanie Kirrstetter had 11 kills while Laura Boos led the defense with 17 digs. Valdosta State resumes Gulf South Conference play on Tuesday, traveling to West Georgia for a 6 pm game.

Lady Blazers Fall In First Day of St. Leo/Eckerd Tournament

2007-10-12

St. Petersburgh, FLA. - The Valdosta State volleyball team competed in the first day of the Saint Leo/Eckerd Tournament, falling in three games to Saint Leo and Eckerd. The Lady Blazers (9-16) had eight kills and eight errors in 31 attempts in the first game against Saint Leo, leaving them with a .000 hitting percentage that cost them a 30-17 defeat. In game two, VSU only tallied seven kills, but only made five errors. But it wasn't enough compared to Saint Leo's offense. The Lions (18-7) connected for 20 kills and only six errors, defeating Valdosta State 30-20. The Lady Blazers kept game three close, falling 30-26. VSU had 14 kills in the game while only making six errors. Stephanie Kirrstetter led all players with nine kills and 12 digs while Arielle Parnell had seven kills and 2.5 blocks. Laura Boos tallied seven digs. As a team, the Lady Blazers had 29 kills, 19 errors in 101 attempts (.099 hitting percentage). They also tallied seven blocks and 32 digs. In the second match of the day, the Lady Blazers lost the first game to Eckerd (17-6) 30-14. VSU tallied 10 kills in the game and only five errors. Grabbing 18 kills, Valdosta State lost the second game 30-25. While Valdosta State tallied 16 kills in game three, EC had 21 kills and won the game 30-23. Ruthie King led VSU with 13 kills while Kathrine Carter had 12 kills. The Lady Blazers take on Nova Southeastern tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm and Rollins at 4 pm. Saint Leo Stats Eckerd Stats

Volleyball Falls In Three Games to West Florida

2007-10-09

Pensacola, Fla. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers fell to the No. 1 seed in the Gulf South Conference, West Florida, on Tuesday night in three games. The Lady Blazers (9-15, 0-7) kept game one close, with the score 11-12 halfway through. But West Florida (22-2, 7-0) broke free and never looked back, winning game one 30-21. VSU trailed through all of game two and were defeated 30-16. In game three, Valdosta State tied the game at 10 with a block by Kathrine Carter and Irene Hannan. UWF pulled ahead and took a 29-20 lead. VSU made a last minute run, but it was not enough for the West Florida offense as the Lady Blazers lost game three 30-24. Stephanie Kirrstetter was the only VSU player to tally double-figure kills, collecting 10 and also tallying 16 digs. Laura Boos led the defense with 19 kills. As a team, VSU had 27 kills and 27 errors in 149 attempts (.000 hitting percentage). They also collected 59 digs and five blocks. UWF's Isabela Gualberto led all players with 12 kills while the Argonauts tallied 50 kills and only 15 errors in 135 attempts, a .259 hitting percentage. The Lady Blazers will travel to St. Petersburgh, Fla. this weekend to compete in the Saint Leo/Eckerd tournament, taking on Saint Leo at 10 am on Friday morning and Eckerd at 7 pm.

Valdosta State Falls To No. 25 West Alabama 3-0

2007-10-06

Livingston, Ala. - The Valdosta State volleyball team fell to the No. 25 team in the nation, West Alabama, in a Gulf South Conference match on Saturday afternoon. VSU lost 3-0. West Alabama (19-1, 5-1), who lost their first match of the season last night against West Florida, defeated VSU (9-14, 0-6) in three straight sets 30-16, 30-24, 30-25. As a team, the Lady Blazers tallied 26 kills and 19 errors in 128 attempts, leaving them with a .133 hitting percentage, as compared to UWA's .231 percentage (56 kills, 25 errors, 134 attempts). Stephanie Kirrstetter led the attack for the Lady Blazers, tallying 13 kills while Kathrine Carter connected for 10 kills. Irene Hannan led the defense with 12 digs. West Alabama's Allison Nail led all players wtih 14 kills. VSU takes on West Florida in Pensacola, Fla. on Tuesday at 7 pm.

Lady Blazers Lose Heartbreaker To Montevallo

2007-10-05

Montevallo, Ala. - The Valdosta State volleyball team lost a heartbreaker to the University of Montevallo on Friday night, falling in five games to the Lady Falcons. The Lady Blazers (9-13) came out strong, winning the first two games 30-25, 30-25. VSU let Montevallo steal game three, 30-21 and let game four slip away, falling 30-17. The match was left up to game five, where both teams battled back and forth and it came down to the wire where the Lady Blazers fell 15-13. Ruthie King had a season high 23 kills and 16 digs while Stephanie Kirrsteter had 17 kills and 19 digs. Irene Hannan led VSU with 35 digs while libero Laura Boos grabbed 16 digs. Setter Niki Patriarca had a season high 53 assists. As a team, Valdosta State had a season high 15 blocks and also collected 66 kills and 98 digs. The Lady Blazers play on Saturday afternoon at West Alabama at 1 pm.

Lady Blazers Defeat Fort Valley State

2007-10-01

Fort Valley, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team snapped their six-game losing streak when they defeated Fort Valley State on Monday night in four games. VSU (9-12, 0-4) led the entire first game, taking a 13-8 lead after a kill from Ruthie King. Fort Valley started to rally back after an ace from FVSU's LaToya Reeves but it wasn't enough as Stephanie Kirrstetter ended the game with an ace, defeating the Wildcats 30-23 in game one. Taking a 12-5 lead, the Lady Blazers cruised their way through game two and took a 10-point lead (17-7) after an ace from Niki Patriarca and a kill from Kirrstetter. VSU never let Fort Valley score more than 12 points, winning game two 30-12. In game three, the Lady Blazers started slow, letting Fort Valley score five unanswered points before VSU could get on the board. Taking their first lead of the game with an ace from Kirrstetter, VSU started to rally back. But the Wildcats were on fire, forcing 15 VSU hitting errors and only 14 kills, leaving them with a -.022 hitting percentage for the game and losing 30-22. Even though Fort Valley came within one point of tying the score in game four, the Lady Blazers led the entire match, taking a 5-1 lead from the start with an ace from Laura Boos and a kill from Arielle Parnell. Irene Hannan's solo block and three service points from Brittney Borg put VSU up 16-7. Fort Valley wasn't read to give up so easily, scoring five unanswered points. Their offense quickly weakened and the Lady Blazers cruised the rest of the way through game four, winning 30-21. Kathrine Carter tied her season high with 10 kills while Parnell had 13 kills, her new season high. Kirrstetter finished wtih 10 kills while Boos had 13 digs. As a team, VSU had 54 kills, 47 digs and five blocks. The Lady Blazers resume conference play this weekend, traveling to Montevallo on Friday night for a 7 pm game and then play West Alabama on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm.

Volleyball Drops Sixth Straight Match

2007-09-29

Valdosta, GA. - Dropping their sixth straight match in a row, the Valdosta State volleyball team was defeated by Gulf South Conference foe, Alabama-Huntsville, on Saturday afternoon in the PE Complex. The Lady Blazers lost in four games. Valdosta State (8-12, 0-4) trailed at the beginning of all four games, but came back in every single one to either tie or take the lead. In game one, the Lady Blazers were down 20-15 before tying it up at 20 with five straight service points from Irene Hannan and three kills from Stephanie Kirrstetter. A kill from Arielle Parnell gave VSU their first lead of the game as the Lady Blazers cruised to a 30-25 win. Alabama-Huntsville (7-15, 1-3)took a commanding 6-0 lead before VSU even put a point on the board. The Lady Blazers came back to tie the game at 16 with four service points from Kirrstetter and two kills from Hannan, but several ball handling errors cost VSU several key points down the stretch as UAH took game two 30-26. Even though each team had 12 kills a piece in game three, VSU tallied 11 hitting errors as compared the to Chargers six. And again, VSU trailed early in game three, 11-7, but came back to tie the game at 19. The rest of the match was a see-saw battle that saw Alabama-Huntsville come out on top in the end, defeating VSU in game three 30-26. Down 11-6 in game four, VSU once again rallied back to tie the game at 15 and took their first lead of the game with a kill from Kathrine Carter followed by another kill from Kirrstetter to put VSU up 18-17. The Lady Blazers committed two serve receive errors and quickly fell behind. The rest of game four was much like game three, with both teams battling back and forth for the lead. The Lady Blazers had three game point opportunities but could not finish and UAH gained momentum on VSU's offensive errors. The Chargers squeeked by VSU in game four, 30-29. Kirrstetter and Hannan each picked up their 11th and 10th double-doubles of the season. Kirrstetter ended the match wtih 11 kills and 13 digs while Hannan collected 16 kills and 19 digs. Carter grabbed a season high ten kills while Emelia Saulter had 31 assists. Laura Boos had 15 digs, her 14th double-figure digs game this season while Parnell had nine kills and two errors, giving her the highest hitting percentage of the game, .350. As a team, VSU had 54 kills, 36 errors and 168 total attempts (.107 hitting percentage) while UAH had 59 kills, 27 errors and 175 attempts (.183 hitting percentage). The Lady Blazers also tallied 69 digs and 7.0 blocks. UAH's Kelly Ingram led all players with 18 kills while Whitney Corder led all players with 20 digs. UAH had 10 team blocks and 71 digs. VSU travels to Fort Valley State on Monday, October 1, for a 6 pm match.

Lady Blazers Defeated By North Alabama, 3-0

2007-09-28

Valdosta, GA. - Trying to pick up their first conference win of the season, the Lady Blazers took on last season's Gulf South Conference champion, North Alabama in the PE Complex on Friday night. Despite a valiant effort, the Lady Blazers fell in three straight games. Valdosta State (8-11, 0-3) started off slow in the first game, only tallying three points halfway through the game. North Alabama (10-9, 3-1) smashed 18 kills compared to VSU's eight and also forced three serve receive errors on the Lady Blazer defense. The Lady Blazers had renewed energy in game two, keeping it close throughout the whole game. In the end, North Alabama pulled ahead in the last 10 points of the game, 30-21, but only ended with two more kills than VSU (14). The Chargers took control of game three with their tremendous defense. Tallying five blocks in game three alone, North Alabama also added 12 defensive digs and two aces. The Lady Blazers were close on their trail offensively, tallying 11 kills opposed to UNA's 12 but also had 11 hitting errors as well. VSU lost game three 30-20. As a team, the Lady Blazers had 29 kills, 28 hitting errors in 112 attempts (.009%). UNA tallied 44 kills, 10 errors in 84 attempts, giving them a .405 hitting percentage. The Chargers out-blocked and out-dug VSU, 12-to-four and 44-to-29. Stephanie Kirrstetter was the only Lady Blazer to tally double-digit kills with 10 while Ruthie King and Irene Hannan had seven a piece. UNA's Katie Haseltine led all players with 15 kills while Jessica Hansen led the defense with 14 digs. The Lady Blazers take on GSC opponent, Alabama-Huntsville, tomorrow afternoon at 12 pm in the PE Complex.

Lady Blazers Fall 3-0 To Flagler

2007-09-24

St. Augustine, FLA. - Even though Stephanie Kirrstetter picked up her 10th double-double of the season, the Valdosta State volleyball team fell to Flagler College on Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup in St. Augustine, Fla. The Lady Blazers (8-10), who have lost their fourth straight match, were down 20-17 in the first game, but let FC (12-7) take control and steal game one, 30-25. In game two, VSU was held to a -.062 hitting percentage as Flagler took the second game 30-15 but almost took game three, 30-27. The Lady Blazers were held to a .000 hitting percentage, their lowest of the season. Kirrstetter led the Lady Blazers with 13 kills and 15 blocks while Kathrine Carter had six kills. Flagler tallied 10 blocks in the match while Katie Beale tallied 15 kills. The Lady Blazers resume conference action against North Alabama on Friday night, at 7 pm in the PE Complex.

Lady Blazers Fall To West Florida 3-0

2007-09-21

Valdosta, GA. - Losing their second Gulf South Conference match this season, the Valdosta State Lady Blazers were defeated by West Florida 3-0 on Friday night in the PE Complex. The Lady Blazers (8-9) started off strong in the first game and were five points ahead of the Argonauts (14-2). VSU's offense could not keep it together, only hitting .054 as a team while UWF hit .294 and came back to take game one 30-20. Hitting .132 in game two, the Lady Blazers kept it close, falling 30-26. Both teams had 14 kills in the game, but the Argonauts had 4 blocks while VSU had none. Even though the Lady Blazers had four blocks in game three compared to UWF's two, it wasn't enough for a VSU win. West Florida took game three 30-22. As a team VSU tallied 36 kills and a .057 hitting percentage, their second lowest of the season. West Florida hit .245 with 44 kills and tallied seven blocks compared to the Lady Blazers five. Stephanie Kirrstetter and Irene Hannan both had nine kills a piece while Laura Boos led the defense with 10 digs while Arielle Parnell had four block assists. For West Florida, Isabele Gualberto had 10 kills and Jerica Carter totaled 14 digs. VSU continues conference play next Friday, with a 7 pm game against North Alabama in the PE Complex.

Volleyball Falls In First Conference Match Of The Season

2007-09-18

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers lost their first Gulf South Conference match on Tuesday night, falling to West Georgia in four games. The Lady Blazers (8-8) were on fire in the first game and defeated the Wolves (17-2) 30-25. Their momentum stopped at the beginning of game two as UWG made the score 8-0 before VSU could even score a point. The Lady Blazers tried to make a late run, making it 22-10 but the Wolves offense was too much for the Lady Blazers to handle as UWG won the second game 30-17. Valdosta State made game three closer, but still fell 30-21. Trailing 6-0 in game four, the Lady Blazers made a late come back, chopping at the score and making it 19-13. The Wolves charged on and only allowed VSU to score five more points and winning game four 30-18. As a team, VSU had 53 kills, 72 digs and six blocks while UWG had 59 kills, 79 digs and eight blocks. The difference between the two teams was that the Lady Blazers had five ball handling errors and nine service receptions and only two aces as compared to UWG's two ball handling errors, two service receptions and nine aces. Irene Hannan led all players with 21 kills and had nine digs while Ruthie King picked up her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 14 digs. Kathrine Carter had 10 kills and two solo blocks while Laura Boos led the defense with 28 digs. For West Georgia, Micque Parker had 45 assists while Andressa Martins had 18 kills and 11 digs. Mattie Pearce led all players with 30 digs. The Lady Blazers resume GSC play on Friday night at 6 pm in the PE Complex, taking on West Florida.

Volleyball Splits Second Day of UAH Tournament

2007-09-15

Huntsville, Ala.- The Valdosta State volleyball team won their first match of the Alabama-Huntsville Tournament on Saturday morning, defeating Arkansas Tech in four games but falling in the second match to Armstrong Atlantic. The Lady Blazers (8-7) slid by the Golden Suns the first match, winning 31-29 and won game two 30-24. ATU came back and won game three 30-24 but the VSU offense was too much as they won game four 31-29. Irene Hannan led the offense for the Lady Blazers with 17 kills and 23 digs while Stephanie Kirrstetter had 14 kills and 25 digs. Ruthie King had 14 kills and Arielle Parnell had 11 kills with a .586 hitting percentage and also tallying four block assists and one solo block. Libero, Laura Boos, had 12 digs while Emelia Saulter had a season high 53 assists and also had 19 digs. As a team, VSU had 12 blocks and 66 kills with a .244 hitting percentage. ATU tallied 67 kills and 16 blocks as a team. VSU took on Armstrong Atlantic in game two, falling in five games, 33-31, 24-30, 25-30, 30-25, 8-15. King had double figure kills again with 12 while Hannan added another double-double to her list with 19 kills, 22 digs and also had four block assists. Saulter had a double-double with 45 assists and 13 digs while Boos led the Lady Blazers with 29 digs. Valdosta State had 56 kills, 7.0 blocks and 100 digs while AASU had 16 blocks, 64 kills and 97 digs. The Lady Blazers begin conference play on Tuesday, September 18, when they take on West Georgia for a 7 pm matchup. Arkansas Tech Stats Armstrong Atlantic Stats

Volleyball Falls at Alabama-Huntsville Tournament

2007-09-14

Huntsville, Ala. - The Valdosta State volleyball team competed in the University of Alabama-Huntsville Tournament over the weekend, losing both matches on Friday afternoon against University of North Carolina-Pembroke and Christian Brothers. In the first match, VSU (7-6) was defeated by UNC-Pembroke in four games, barely falling the first match 31-29 but coming back and winning game two, 30-27. In game three, the UNCP offense was too much to handle as the Lady Blazers fell 30-15. VSU made it close in game four, falling 32-20. Irene Hannan led the offense with 16 kills for the Lady Blazers while also tallying 15 digs and three block assists. Ruthie King had 14 kills and 15 digs, picking up her second double-double of the season while Arielle Parnell rounded out the VSU offense-leaders with 10 kills, hitting .240 for the match. Laura Boos had 13 digs while Brittney Borg had 12. As a team, VSU had 69 digs and 49 kills while hitting .141 as a team. UNCP hit .234 as a team and had 75 digs with 64 kills. In their second match, the Lady Blazers fell to Christian Brothers, who VSU defeated earlier this season. Valdosta State lost in three games, 30-26, 32-30 and 30-19. King led the Lady Blazers with 16 kills and 7 digs while Hannan picked up her second double-double of the day with 14 kills and 12 digs. Emelia Saulter had 37 assists while Borg led the defense with 12 digs. VSU continues play on Saturday morning, taking on Arkansas Tech at 10 am and Armstrong Atlantic at noon. NCP Stats Christian Brothers stats

Volleyball Defeats Albany State in Four Games

2007-09-11

Albany, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team traveled to Albany, Ga. on Tuesday night to take on the Golden Rams of Albany State. The Lady Blazers defeated ASU in four games, extending their winning streak to three matches. VSU (7-4) blew by Albany State (1-7) the first game 30-16. Trailing the second game, the Lady Blazers came back at the end of game two to get within two points, but could not come up with a win, falling 30-28. VSU took the next two games from the Golden Rams easily, winning 30-15, 30-12. Valdosta State's defense caused Albany State to hit a .000 for the game and forced 33 hitting errors. As a team, the Lady Blazers had seven blocks, 10 aces and 62 kills. Irene Hannan led all players with 18 kills, hitting .342 for the match. Three other players landed in double-figure kills starting with Arielle Parnell who tallied 11 kills while hitting .444 for the match and also had four block assists. Stephanie Kirrstetter picked up another double-double with 13 kills and a game high 19 digs while also adding four service aces. Ruthie King had 14 kills. Libero Laura Boos had 15 digs while freshman Emelia Saulter had 48 assists on the night. The Lady Blazers will compete in the Saint Leo/Eckerd Tournament this weekend in St.Petersburgh, Fla., taking on North Caroline-Pembroke and Christian Brothers on Friday while playing Arkansas Tech and Armstrong Atlantic on Saturday.

Volleyball Sweeps In Second Day Of West Georgia Tournament

2007-09-08

Valdosta, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team went 2-0 in the second day of the West Georgia Tournament, defeating Fort Valley State and Christian Brothers in three games on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Blazers (6-4) took on Fort Valley in their first game, defeating the Wildcats for the second time this season. VSU won the match easily, 30-11, 30-23, 30-18. In the next match, Valdosta State defeated fellow Gulf South Conference opponent, Christian Brothers, in three games. Barely winning the first game 32-30, VSU breezed through the next two games 30-22, 30-20. Laura Boos was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Lady Blazers will travel to Albany, Ga. to take on Albany State on Tuesday, September 11 for a 6 pm matchup. Fort Valley Stats Christian Brothers Stats

Volleyball Splits At West Georgia Tournament

2007-09-07

Valdosta, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team split two matches at the West Georgia Tournament on Friday, September 7, in Carrollton, Ga. The Lady Blazers (4-4) defeated St. Andrews Presbyterian in four games, losing the first game 30-21 but coming back and winning the next three games 30-21, 30-25, 30-22. VSU was not as successful against Eckerd College, falling in three straight games to the Tritons, 30-9, 30-21, 30-32. The Lady Blazers continue play on Saturday afternoon with a match against Fort Valley State at 1 pm and another match against Gulf South Conference opponent, Christian Brothers at 4 pm. St. Andrews Stats Eckerd Stats

Volleyball Splits At Second Day Of Francis Marion Invite

2007-09-01

Valdosta, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team split a pair of matches at the second day of the Francis Marion Invite on Saturday afternoon, falling in their first match to Wayne State in five games but defeated Glenville State in three. Against Wayne State, the Lady Blazers (3-3) took the first two games, defeating WSU. The Warriors were too much for VSU to handle as they stormed back to take the next three games. Valdosta State bounced back in the next match taking three straight from Glenville State. Irene Hannan was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Lady Blazers travel to Carrollton, Ga. to compete in the West Georgia Tournament. On Friday, September 7, VSU will take on St. Andrews Presbyterian at 1:00 pm and Eckerd at 4:00 pm. Wayne State Stats Glenville State Stats

Volleyball Competes in Francis Marion Invite

2007-08-31

Florence, S.C. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers lost both of their matches in the first day of the Francis Marion Invite in Florence, S.C. on Friday afternoon. In their first match, VSU (2-2) fell to Lenoir-Rhyne in five games. Losing the first game 30-24, The Lady Blazers stormed back to win the next two games 30-27, 30-25. Only needing one more game to clinch the match, VSU lost the fourth game 30-24. Going head-to-head with the Bears (5-1) in game five, VSU took the loss by a score of 17-15. Valdosta State took on the host, Francis Marion, in their second match. The Patriots stole game one 30-18 but the Lady Blazers bounced back, taking game two easily, 30-16. FMSU was too much for VSU to handle as they took the next two games 30-20, 30-20. Stephanie Kirrstetter collected her second double-double of the season with 16 kills and 14 digs while Irene Hannan had double figure kills and digs also (12, 11). Laura Boos led the defense with 18 digs while freshman Emelia Saulter had 34 assists. The Lady Blazers take on Wayne State at 9 am and Glenville State at 2 pm. Lenoir-Rhyne Game Stats Francis Marion Game Stats

Volleyball Defeats Fort Valley State In Four Games

2007-08-28

Valdosta, Ga. - The Valdosta State volleyball team defeated Fort Valley State in four games on Tuesday night in the PE Complex, keeping an undefeated record after two matches this season. The Lady Blazers (2-0) took game one easily, defeating the Wildcats (0-1) 30-13. Leading for most of game two, VSU fell behind 20-23 to FVSU and could not catch up, falling 30-28 in game two. Valdosta State stormed back in game three, pulling out a 30-23 win before winning game four 30-19. The Lady Blazers had more than twice as many kills as Fort Valley, with 56 kills compared to the Wildcats 25. Even though VSU only hit .175 as a team, their outstanding defense forced Fort Valley to hit a -.073 percent for the match. VSU also had 12 aces, 52 digs and five total blocks as a team. Irene Hannan and Stephanie Kirrstetter each racked up 16 kills on the night with Hannan collecting eight digs and Kirrstetter with her first double-double of the season, recording 11 digs. Niki Patriarca also collected her first double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs while Ruthie King ended the night with 12 kills and four aces. Libero Laura Boos had nine digs and a game high six aces. LaToya Reeves led Fort Valley with 10 kills and nine digs. The Lady Blazers travel to Florence, S.C. to compete in the Francis Marion Invite this weekend. VSU will take on Lenoir-Rhyne (12 pm) and Francis Marion (7 pm) on Friday before competing against Wayne State (9 am) and Glenville State (2 pm) on Saturday.

Volleyball Defeats Brewton Parker In Three Games

2007-08-24

VALDOSTA, Ga.-The Valdosta State volleyball team defeated Brewton Parker in their home opener on Friday night in the PE Complex, taking the match in three straight sets: 30-20, 30-16, 30-8. In front of a packed crowd, the Blazers (1-0) played together for the first time and gave the fans something to cheer about as they sailed through the first two games before destroying the Barons (0-1) in game three. As a team, the Blazers hit .239 with 39 kills while holding BPC to a -.167 hitting percentage and only 16 kills. With their tremendous offense, VSU forced 15 serve receive errors and limited the Barons to three blocks. Valdosta State also collected 34 assists, 15 aces, 26 digs and nine blocks. Setter Niki Patriarca had a game high 24 assists while freshman Arielle Parnell led the Blazers with 10 kills, hitting 43.8 percent and also had three block assists. Kathrine Carter had the highest hitting percentage of the game with a .462 that included seven kills and only one error while grabbing two block assists. Libero Laura Boos had eight digs while Irene Hannan had eight kills. Stephanie Kirrstetter rounded out the top Blazer performers with seven kills and five digs. For the Barons, TaSheena Brown had a team high five kills while Megan Johnson had a game high nine digs. The Blazers return to action on Tuesday, August 28 to take on Fort Valley State for a 6 pm matchup in the PE Complex.

Volleyball Prepares For First Match

2007-08-23

VALDOSTA, Ga.-The Valdosta State volleyball team prepares for their first match of the season that will take place on Friday, August 24 at 6 pm against Brewton Parker College in the PE Complex. The Blazers return five veterans that include juniors Niki Patriarca and Katherine Carter and sophomores Irene Hannan, Stephanie Kirrstetter and Brittney Borg. Head coach Sia Poyer is optimistic about what his veteran players will bring to the table. "I am counting on all of our old players to collectively lead our new kids and the whole team." Kirrstetter and Hannan will be playing outside this season. Kirrstetter collected 337 kills last season along with 69 aces (first on the team), 360 digs and 47 blocks. Hannan red-shirted last year. "Stephanie and Irene know that they will have to carry the team offensively," said Poyer. "And that inherently comes with other leadership responsibilities." Patriarca, last season's starting setter, broke her own school record last year with 1,291 assists. The 5-7 Peachtree City, Ga. native also had 46 aces and 236 digs in 2006. Poyer is counting on Patriarca's experience to help lead the Blazers. "Niki knows our offense very well, but she also knows she is going to have to step up." Carter did not see much playing time last season but is expected to step in as a middle blocker this year while Borg, last season's starting libero will also see quality playing time. Borg was second on the team last season with 343 digs. The 5-4 sophomore also tallied 30 aces and averaged 2.81 digs per game. "Kat and Brittney's roles will increase over the season," stated Poyer. "They know and understand that more is expected from them not only because they are a year older, but because our team is so young." For ticket information, please call Amy Fenolia at 245-3762 or visit our website at vstateblazers.com

Volleyball Ends Second Week of Practice

2007-08-15

VALDOSTA, Ga.- With six new faces on the roster, the Valdosta State University volleyball team concluded their second week of practice. Now that school is in session, the Blazers practices have gone down to one a day. The Blazers lost six players to graduation last year and head coach Sia Poyer has recruited five new freshmen and one transfer. Laura Boos, a junior transfer from Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a 5-5 libero that is going to bring a lot to the program. "Laura has experience and high energy and a great volleyball IQ," says Poyer. "She is an excellent passer and has the potential to be one of the best libero's in the Gulf South Conference." Ruthie King hails to Valdosta from Lake Howell High School in Winterpark Fla. "Ruthie has tons of talent and I expect her to contribute right away to the outside hitter position," said Poyer of the 5-10 freshman. "She has a strong arm swing and just needs a little college experience." The second freshman added to the VSU roster is Emelia Saulter, a setter from McAllen High School in McAllen, Texas. "She is a very hard worker and is going to be battling for a starting position as setter." stated Poyer. After graduating All-GSC Player Grace George and GSC Player-of-the-Week Bentley Knox, Poyer had to find a middle blocker to take their place. "Arielle Parnell is very athletic and has a chance to be a great middle. She just needs some experience and needs to be a bit more physical." Parnell comes to VSU from Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Fla. Alex Mixon, a walk-on freshman from Tallahassee, Fla., is a flexible player. "We expect Alex to contribute as one of our defensive specialists this season," stated Poyer. Rounding out the newcomers is Chelsea Proffitt, a 5-9 outside hitter from Collins Hill High School in Lawrenceville, Ga. Poyer is impressed with the way Proffitt has improved. "Chelsea is improving every single day. She is doing a very nice job of fitting in with our outside hitters. " With five veterans on the team and six newcomers, Poyer is pleased with the way the girls are playing together. "The new players are fitting in very well with the veterans. I don't have any seniors on the team; but in a way it is somewhat of a blessing. The players know it's their team, the mood in the locker room is a little more relaxed, and I think the players with leadership qualities will slowly emerge." This past week, the Blazers have been focused on improving and sharpening their skills while still getting used to and understanding their individual roles on the team. Valdosta State plays their first game on Friday, August 24, at 6 pm against Brewton Parker.

Volleyball Begins 2007 Practice

2007-08-06

VALDOSTA, Ga.- After four days of two-a-days, Valdosta State head volleyball coach Sia Poyer expressed pleasure with the way that his team is taking shape prior to Friday's lone practice. "The players are really picking things up fast, especially all of our new faces," said Poyer. "Of course, they make freshmen mistakes sometimes, but they have definitely shown a rapid blending with our veteran players through the first eight practices." The Lady Blazers have met twice daily through the first four days of preseason practice, take the court in the early afternoon and early evening as they prepare for their first match on August 24. "Its funny in that last year we had a lot of veteran players, but it seemed like it took a lot of them time to pick up on our scheme and how we like to practice," Poyer continued. "We seem to be doing that a lot faster this season which is a great thing if you are a coach. It allows you to do so much more in practice." Poyer lays much of the praise for the accelerated learning curve at the feat of his five returning players. "Our returners have done a great job of leading thus far," he concluded. "They have taken an active role in teaching which really helps the coaching staff out." The Lady Blazers open the season in the P.E. Complex Friday, August 24 when they host Brewton-Parker at 6:00 p.m.

Lady Blazers Fall to Ouachita Baptist

2006-11-03

FLORENCE, Ala .- The Valdosta State volleyball team fell to Ouachita Baptist University in four games on Friday night in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. VSU (21-15), who leads the league in blocking, started off strong in the first game. Even though the Lady Blazers did not record any blocks, they held Ouachita (16-13) to a .081 hitting percentage and defeated OBU 30-24. First team All-GSC outside hitter, Laura Lee Atkinson, led her team with 5 kills. With a three-point lead in game two at 26-23, the Lady Blazers could not pull out a victory as the Lady Tigers won seven of the last eight points (30-27). Game three was back and forth between the two teams and OBU barely pulled out a 30-28 victory. VSU came out swining in game four, taking an early 11-3 lead before Ouachita tied it at 14. In another see-saw game, the Lady Tigers pulled out a .250 hitting percentage to win game four (30-27) and the match. This is the first time in their school's history that Ouachita Baptist has won a game in the conference tournament. Both teams saw 41 ties and 17 lead changes on the match while VSU totalled nine team blocks and three players had double-doubles. Atkinson recorded her 23rd double-double, leading all players with 22 kills and 23 digs with only nine errors. Nancy Marin tallied 19 kills with a .222 hitting percentage and 11 digs with five block assists. Freshman Stephanie Kirrstetter had 10 kills with 10 digs while Niki Patriarca threw up 53 assists. The Lady Blazers end their season with a final record of 21-15, a third place finish in the GSC East Division with two players, Grace George and Atkinson, named to the All-Conference teams.

Lady Blazers Fall to Ouachita Baptist

2006-11-03

Lady Blazers Celebrate Senior Night

2006-10-31

VALDOSTA, Ga .- Celebrating Senior Night in the P.E. Complex, the Valdosta State volleyball team swept Brewton Parker College on the last home game of the year. Among the seniors were Laura Lee Atkinson, Bentley Knox, Grace George, Meredith Brown, Valerie Haven and Ana Pendowski. All six seniors saw action in all three games. Neither team hit over .100 percent in the first game, but the Lady Blazers (21-14) held the Lady Baron (15-20) to a -.143 hitting percentage. VSU only hit .050, but Nancy Marin hit .500 with five kills, as Valdosta State won the game 30-24. Game two's percentages were better with Valdosta State hitting .308 and four players hitting over .300. Knox hit .600 with three kills and Haven had three kills, hitting .500. Holding Brewton Parker to a .075 percent, the Lady Blazers tallied three team blocks, winning 30-24. Defeating BPU 30-20 in the third game, VSU hit .261 on the match with 11 total team blocks. Atkinson had 12 kills, hitting .259 with 9 digs while Nancy Marin tallied 15 kills with 8 digs and seven block assists. Amy Lou Meisen-Vehrs threw up 24 assists. The Lady Blazers compete in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament on Friday, November 3 at 5 p.m. in Florence, Ala. If they win this game, they take on the winner of the North Alabama-Arkansas Monticello match that will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The championship match will be that night.

Lady Blazers Third Heading Into GSC Tournament

2006-10-28

LIVINGSTON, Ala..- The Valdosta State volleyball team defeated the University of West Alabama in four games on Saturday afternoon, clinching a third place spot in the Gulf South Conference Tournament. The Lady Blazers (20-14, 7-5) came out swinging in games one and two, defeating West Alabama (9-23, 1-11) 30-23, 30-21. After making a come-back in game three, VSU fell to UWA 30-23. The Valdosta State defense came alive in game three, winning 30-22. The Lady Blazers had 23.5 total blocks, a season high, 11.5 blocks away from setting a new school record. Grace George tallied two solo blocks and 11 block assists of her own along with 15 kills on 18 attempts, hitting a season high .833. Senior Bentley Knox hit .444 with 10 kills wile Stephanie Kirrstetter led all players with 16 digs. VSU takes the third place spot in the GSC East Division, which puts them up against Ouachita Baptist on Friday night, at 5 p.m. The tournament will take place at North Alabama University, the No. 1 seed from the East. The Lady Blazers will hold 'Senior Night' on Tuesday, October 31, against Brewton Parker College at 6 p.m. in the P.E. Complex.

Volleyball Clinches Spot in GSC Tournament

2006-10-27

MONTEVALLO, Ala..- The last time VSU played the University of Montevallo on September 29, the Lady Blazers lost in four games. But with a Gulf South Conference Tournament bid on the line, Valdosta State's defense proved why it is ranked first in the GSC as the Lady Blazers swept Montevallo on Friday night. The last time these two teams met, the Lady Falcons (21-12, 4-7) tallied 16 service aces over VSU (19-14, 6-5), defeating them in four games at the P.E. Complex (21-30, 28-30, 30-25, 28-30). Even though UM had 10 service aces on the game, the Lady Blazers overpowered the Lady Falcons in almost every category, including kills (45), hitting percentage (.286), assists, (39), digs (54) and total team blocks (13). VSU held Montevallo to a .098 hitting percentage in the first game, winning 30-25 before hitting a .267 percent in the second game and defeating UM 30-24. In the third game, the Lady Blazers caught fire and hit an impressive .417 percent, holding the Lady Falcons to a -.103 percent. Laura Lee Atkinson led all players with 12 kills on only four errors, hitting .267 while tallying 10 digs, her 20th double-double of the season. Nancy Marin racked up her eighth double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Grace George led the defensive attack with three block solos and five block assists,hitting a team high .625 percent with 10 kills and no errors, on 16 attempts. Freshman Stephanie Kirrstetter led the team with 15 digs while Niki Patriarca threw up 34 assists. The Lady Blazers are ranked first in the GSC in blocking with 340.5 total blocks and 2.86 blocks per game. George leads all players with 46 solo blocks and records 1.41 blocks per game. Also ranked first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, VSU holds their opponents to a .145 hitting percentage while they accumulate a .205 percent. The last time the Lady Blazers made it to the GSC Tournament was in 2000 under former head coach Paul Cantrell, when his team went 22-8overall with a 10-6 GSC record, losing in the first round to Arkansas Tech. With a win tonight over West Alabama, VSU will clinch a third place finish in the GSC. The Lady Blazers take on UWA today at 2 p.m. in Livingston, Ala. and return home on Tuesday, October 31, for Senior Night against Brewton-Parker at 6 p.m. in the P.E. Complex.

Volleyball Sweeps Fort Valley

2006-10-23

VALDOSTA, Ga ..- The Valdosat State volleyball team took on Fort Valley State at the P.E. Complex on Monday night, sweeping FVSU in three games and extending their win column to 18. The Lady Blazers (18-14) held the Lady Wildcats (20-13) to a -.027 hitting percentage in the first game while tallying six team blocks, Bentley Knox with five block assists. VSU hit .282 while Nancy Marin and Stephanie Kirrstetter hit over .500 with seven and four kills, respectively. VSU led the entire match, winning 30-21. Game two was much of the same, while 11 players saw action, only allowing Fort Valley nine kills with a -.088 hitting percentage and again tallying six team blocks. Marin had four block assists of her own while hitting .400 on the game. VSU won the game 30-15. Fort Valley did not exceed a .000 hitting percentage in game three despite only two team blocks from Valdosta State. Senior Valerie Haven hit .750 with three kills and no errors while Marin hit .400 with three kills as the Lady Blazers defeated the Lady Wildcats 30-18. On the match, the Lady Blazers defense proved why they are ranked first in the Gulf South Conference in blocking with 14 team blocks while Knox led all players with one solo block and six block assists.VSU hit .287 on the match while Marin led all players with 13 kills and a .455 hitting percentage, a personal season high. Laura Lee Atkinson tallied 11 digs while Niki Patriarca threw up 21 assists. The Lady Blazers leave for a two-game road trip on Friday, October 27th against Montevallo at 8 p.m. and then play West Alabama on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both matches are conference matches as the Lady Blazers fight for a third place finish in the GSC.

North Alabama Breaks Lady Blazer Win Streak

2006-10-21

VALDOSTA, Ga ..- The Valdosta State Lady Blazer volleyball team celebrated Parent's Night on Saturday Night in the P.E. Complex, but lost their first match in six games against No. 19 North Alabama in three games. VSU (17-14) has never beaten nationally ranked UNA (24-5), and the Lady Blazers set out to make school history but started off slow in game one, losing 30-15. The Lady Lions held VSU to a .000 hitting percentage while they hit .325 and had 17 kills compared to Valdosta State's eight. Senior Bentley Knox hit .750 on the game with three kills on four attempts. The second game came down to the wire. The Lady Lions led most of the game until VSU tied it up at 25 after a solo block from Laura Lee Atkinson, but UNA pushed ahead 28-26 with a service ace. The Lady Blazers tied up the score at 28 with amazing defense from Nancy Marin and Grace George and tied it up again at 30 with kills from Marin and George. But North Alabama pushed for two straight points, winning the game 32-30. The Lady Blazers out-hit UNA on the game with a .113 hitting percentage and had two more blocks, but UNA's offense was too much with 17 kills. North Alabama out-hit and out-blocked Valdosta State in game three with a .320 hitting percentage and tallied three team blocks. Atkinson hit .300 on the game with five kills, but VSU still fell to the Lady Lions 30-18. On the match, Atkinson collected her 19th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 20 digs, hitting a team high .208 percent. Marin also collected her 7th double-double of the season, hitting .206 with 10 kills and 10 digs. George led the defense with a solo block and five block assists, giving the Lady Blazers nine total blocks on the match. This loss stops a five-game win streak for the Lady Blazers, who are in third place in the Gulf South Conference, with only two more conference games remaining. VSU has not placed higher than fifth in the GSC since 2000. Valdosta State takes on Fort Valley State Monday night at 6 p.m. in the P.E. Complex in a non-conference match-up.

Lady Blazers Take Charge Over Alabama-Huntsville

2006-10-19

VALDOSTA, Ga ..- The Valdosta State volleyball team swept the University of Alabama-Huntsville in three straight sets in a conference game on Thursday night in the P.E. Complex, extending their win streak to five games. The Lady Blazers (17-13, 5-4) led the entire match, holding the Lady Chargers ( 9-19, 4-6) to a .000 hitting percentage and winning the game 30-24. Nancy Marin had four kills on seven attempts with no errors and a .571 hitting percentage. VSU had seven team blocks, with Bentley Knox having four block assists of her own. UAH made game two a little closer, out-hitting and out-digging Valdosta State with a .255 hitting percentage and 24 digs. Laura Lee Atkinson and Stephanie Kirrstetter each hit .333 while Kirrstetter collected six kills and Atkinson five. Only tallying three team blocks, the Lady Blazers pushed out a 32-30 win. Leading the entire game, VSU defeated Alabama-Huntsville 30-27, out-hitting and out-digging the Lady Chargers with 15 kills, a .158 hitting percentage and 15 digs. The Lady Blazers only hit .186 on the match but collected 11 blocks as a team and 49 kills. Marin finished with a match high .333 hitting percentage while Atkinson recorded 16 kills. Kirrstetter had the only double-double on the match with 10 kills and 13 digs, her ninth of the season. Niki Patriarca threw up 43 assists while Knox contributed six block assists. This win extends VSU's win streak to five games, the most since 2002 when the Lady Blazers went 15-15 on the season. This also gives Valdosta State their 17th win, the most since 2000 when the team finished the season 22-8. The Lady Blazers have five games left of the regular season, currently in third place in the Gulf South Conference, leading the league in blocking and opponent hitting percentage. The Lady Blazers take on No. 19th in the country, North Alabama, in the P.E. Complex on Saturday, October 21 at 6 p.m. Anyone who attends the game with a football stub can get in on no charge.

Volleyball Breezes Past Albany State

2006-10-16

VALDOSTA, Ga ..- The Valdosta State Volleyball team defeated Albany State 3-0 in a non-conference match-up in the P.E. Complex on Tuesday night. In the last match-up between these two teams, the Lady Blazers (16-13) beat Albany State (6-14) on their home court in three games. In the same manner, VSU took game one, only allowing ASU 13 points and hitting a .567 percent. Laura Lee Atkinson had eight kills with a .727 hitting percentage while setter Niki Patriarca threw up 15 assists. In game two, Stephanie Kirrstetter picked up her offense, having seven kills with a .333 hitting percentage, while the Lady Blazer defense only allowed Albany State a .095 hitting percentage. VSU came from behind to win 31-29. Atkinson hit .427 in game three with four kills while Grace George hit .500 on five kills. All players saw action in the game as Valdosta State defeated Albany State 30-18. Kirrstetter ended the match with 14 kills on 26 attempts, hitting .423, a season high. Atkinson collected her 18th double-double of the season with a match high 15 kills and 11 digs while George hit .391 with 11 kills. The Lady Blazers play again on Thursday, October 19 in a conference match-up against Alabama-Huntsville in the P.E. Complex at 7 p.m.

Lady Blazers Fall to West Georgia

2006-10-12

CARROLLTON, Ga..- The Valdosta State Lady Blazers fell to the University of West Georgia on Thursday night, 3-1, in a Gulf South Conference match in Carrollton, ending VSU's four game win streak. The last time the two teams met, VSU took home the win in a four-game match, out-hitting and out-digging the Wolves. With more experience and success since the previous meeting, Valdosta State was looking to improve their .500 record to a winning one since last defeating the second place team in the GSC, West Florida in four sets on Tuesday night. The third place Lady Blazers (12-13, 4-4) came up short in the first game against the sixth place West Georgia, losing 30-25, while neither team hit above .100. VSU took game two 30-27 despite being out-hit by the Lady Wolves (11-12, 3-5) by .123 percent. But the Lady Blazers could not handle West Georgia's offense, falling the next two games 30-23 and 30-25. Laura Lee Atkinson collected her 15th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 15 digs while Grace George hit a team high .333 percent with two solo blocks and three block assists. VSU travels to Montevallo, Alabama to play in the Montevallo Tournament against Lincoln Memorial on Friday night for an 8 p.m. match-up.

Lady Blazers Light Up Lady Argos

2006-10-10

VALDOSTA, Ga..- The Valdosta State Volleyball team defeated West Florida 3-1 in a second and third place show-down in a conference match-up on Tuesday night in the P.E. Complex. VSU (12-12, 4-3) started off slow in the first game, only hitting .143 while West Florida's Naiara Fernandes, this week's Gulf South Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week, hit .417 on the game. The Lady Argo's (14-9, 6-2) won the game 30-19. Four players hit over .300 in the second game as the Lady Blazers rolled past UWF in a 30-17 win. Laura Lee Atkinson hit .857 on the match, committing no errors on seven attempts with six kills while Grace George hit .833 on five kills and six attempts. Nancy Marin netted three kills hitting .333 and this week's GSC Defensive Player-of-the-Week, Bentley Knox, also hit .333. VSU's defense held UWF's Fernandes to a .083 hitting percentage. Game three was just as exciting as the Lady Blazers led the entire game, but the Lady Argo's came back, tying the game at 21. Atkinson put down six kills on 11 attempts, hitting .455 while Marin had four kills with three block assists, hitting .444. Valdosta State's defense pulled out seven team blocks on the match, limiting West Florida's offense to a .036 hitting percentage, winning the game 30-27. Starting off strong, VSU's defense again held UWF's offense to a .068 hitting percentage in the fourth game, totalling six team blocks. George, who is ranked first in the GSC in blocking, and Atkinson each had a solo block while Knox, ranked fifth in the GSC in blocking, had three block assists. UWF wasn't going down without a fight, tying the game up at 24 but the Lady Blazer offense was too much, tallying 16 kills on the game with only four errors, VSU won the game 30-28. Atkinson collected her 14th double-double of the season with 19 kills and 16 digs, hitting a match-high .386 with two solo blocks and four block assists. Marin had a team high 24 digs on the game, a season high for her and also added 12 kills and four block assists. George finished the game with 13 kills and a .310 hitting percentage, adding two solo blocks and seven block assists while Niki Patriarca threw up 51 assists and Brittney Borg had 17 digs. Valdosta State hit .220 on the match and had 17 total team blocks, limiting UWF to a .085 hitting percentage. This win marks the first time in several years that VSU has had a .500 record and the most win's as a head coach for Sia Poyer. The Lady Blazers return to action on Thursday, October 12 at West Georgia for a 6 p.m. conference match-up.

Lady Blazers Roll Past Eckerd College

2006-10-05

ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla.-The Valdosta State Volleyball team defeated the Tritons of Eckerd College three games to one, their third straight win which improves their record to 11-12, surpassing last season's win total. The Lady Blazers (11-12), who are ranked third in the Gulf South Conference in opponent hitting percentage (.152), held the Lady Tritons (12-9) offense in game one to .143, winning 30-17, but almost let game two slip away, barely pulling off the win by a score of 31-29. Eckerd's momentum from game two carried on into the third game as they out-hit VSU with a .439 hitting percentage, taking the game 30-20. The match went to Valdosta State after breezing through game four 30-23. Four players had double-digit kills for the Lady Blazers. Nancy Marin led her team with 14 kills, hitting .256 while Grace George, who is ranked second in the GSC in blocking (2.57/game), netted 13 kills with one solo block and 4 block assists. Laura Lee Atkinson, last week's GSC Offensive Player-of-the-Week, and Stephanie Kirrstetter had 11 kills a piece while Atkinson dug 15 balls, her 13th double-double of the season. Kirrstetter collected her eighth double-double adding on 13 digs. Senior Bentley Knox led the defense with a season high 10 block assists and one block solo, tying her and George with 74 block assists on the season, while setter Niki Patriarca threw up 43 assists. VSU had a team total of 17 blocks, the highest on the season. The Lady Blazers went into tonight's match ranked third in the GSC East Division, the highest they have been ranked under head coach Sia Poyer. Returning home on Tuesday, October 10th, Valdosta State takes on West Georgia at 6 pm in the P.E. Complex.

Lady Blazers Sweep Fort Valley State

2006-10-02

FORT VALLEY, Ga.- The Valdosta State Lady Blazers defeated Fort Valley State in three straight sets in a non-conference match-up on Monday night, holding the Lady Wildcats to a .037 hitting percentage. VSU (9-12) came out swinging in game one, hitting a powerful .625 percent, holding the Lady WIldcats (15-7) to a .062 hitting percentage and winning the game 30-16. Starting off slow the second match, the Lady Blazers came from behind to win 30-21. All players saw playing time by the third match as Valdosta State handed FVSU their seventh loss of the season (30-21) with a hitting percentage of .385. Several players put up some high hitting percentages in the match. Normally known for her defensive skills and ranked third in the Gulf South Conference in blocking, Grace George had an impressive offensive day leading all players in hitting percentage with .562 including 11 kills, along with three solo blocks and three block assists. Bentley Knox hit .545 on the match, a season high, with two solo blocks and three block assists while Nancy Marin had eight kills with only two errors, leaving her with a .429 hitting percentage. The Lady Blazers return to conference play on October 12 against West Florida at 6 p.m. in the P.E. Complex.

Lady Blazers Defeat West Alabama 3-0

2006-09-30

VALDOSTA, Ga.- Valdosta State hit over .400 in each of the first two games in defeating West Alabama 3-0 in Gulf South Conference volleyball action at the P.E. Complex Saturday afternoon. The Blazers (9-12, 3-3) hit .448 in the first game as they never trailed in defeating the Lady Tigers (4-16, 1-4) 30-18. UWA hit -.059 in the game and was at -.081 in game two, in which VSU hit .433 en route to a 30-13 lead. Valdosta State closed out the match with a 30-18 victory in game three, hitting .333 while allowing West Alabama to hit .075. For the match, the Blazers hit .404 and limited UWA to a -.018 hitting percentage. The Blazers tallied 16 blocks in the match, behind a solo block and seven assisted blocks by senior Grace George and eight assisted blocks by junior Nancy Marin. Marin also had 10 kills in the match and hit .588 with no errors in 17 attack attempts. Laura Lee Atkinson tallied her 12th double-double of the year with 11 kills and 11 digs while Niki Patriarca registered 32 assists. The Lady Tigers were led by Teresa Clements with nine kills and Allison Nail with eight. Setter Giuliana De Francesco registered 20 assists and eight digs. Valdosta State returns to action Monday, October 2 when it visits Fort Valley State at 6:00 p.m. for a non-conference match. West Alabama continues conference play as it visits North Alabama on Tuesday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m.

Lady Blazers Fall to Montevallo

2006-09-29

VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Lady Blazer volleyball team lost a four-game match to the University of Montevallo on Friday night in the P.E. Complex. The Lady Blazers (8-12) out-scored the Lady Falcons (12-8) in almost every category in game one including kills (14), hitting percentage (.222), assists (13) and digs with 18 but had problems with serve receive and ball handling, falling to the Lady Falcons 30-21. VSU trailed most of the second match but came back to tie it up at 25 with a kill by Bentley Knox. UM's offense was too much for the Valdosta State's defense as the Lady Falcons out-hit the Lady Blazers .159 to .107, winning 30-28. Brittney Borg led the defense in game three with eight digs while Stephanie Kirrstetter finished the game with a .308 hitting percentage. As a team, VSU led in all categories for the game, winning 30-25 and forcing a fourth game. Game four was a battle back and forth between the two teams. Even though the Lady Blazers once again led in most categories including kills (18), assists (18) and digs (18), the Lady Falcons serving was too much for the VSU defense to handle as they fell 30-28. Laura Lee Atkinson ended the match with her 11th double-double of the season netting 15 kills and 22 digs while Nancy Marin collected her fifth double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs. Niki Patriarca led all players with 54 assists, a season high for her while Knox and Borg led the defense with two solo blocks, two block assists and 19 digs, respectively. VSU is back in action on Saturday night at 5 p.m. in the P.E. Complex in a conference match-up against West Alabama.

VSU Cruises Past Brewton Parker

2006-09-26

MOUNT VERNON, Ga.- The VSU volleyball team defeated Brewton Parker College in a non-conference match-up, hitting a season high .298 percent as a team. All players saw action in the match as the Lady Blazers (8-11) cruised by the Lady Baron (7-10) in games one and two 30-16 and 30-17. BPC made game three close, but were defeated 30-22. Laura Lee Atkinson had her 10th double-double of the season with 15 kills, 10 digs, a match high .481 hitting percentage and two aces. Grace George, last week's Gulf South Conference player of the week, netted 10 kills, hitting .231 with a solo block and two block assists. Brittney Borg led the defense with 15 digs. Valdosta State returns home on Friday, September 29 to face Montevallo in a 7 p.m. conference match-up in the P.E. Complex.

Volleyball Sweeps Albany State

2006-09-18

ALBANY, Ga.- The Valdosta State volleyball team swept Albany State on the road Monday night, extending their win streak to two. The Lady Blazers, now 6-10 overall, blew by the Lady Rams (3-13) in game one, winning 30-21 before defeating Albany State in game two (30-22) and hitting .333 percent as a team. All players saw action in game three as Valdosta State held Albany to a .000 hitting percentage on the match, winning game three 30-18. Laura Lee Atkinson recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs. This is Atkinson's fourth double-double performance in five games. Freshman Stephanie Kirrstetter also picked up another double-double, her seventh of the year, with 12 kills on only three errors, hitting a season high .409 while adding 14 digs. Grace George, VSU's block leader (1.13/game), picked up 10 kills while hitting .238 with two solo blocks and two block assists. The Lady Blazers continue conference play on the road this weekend, playing North Alabama on Friday, September 22 at 7:00 p.m. followed by a match on Saturday against Alabama-Huntsville at 1:00 p.m.

Lady Blazers Defeat West Georgia

2006-09-14

VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State volleyball team took home a win against University of West Georgia, in their second Gulf South Conference match of the season while three players obtained double-doubles. The Lady Blazers (5-10) defeated the Lady Wolves (8-7) in four sets, leading the entire first game and winning 30-17. VSU got off to a shaky start in game two, down by as many as six but after a huge dig by Nancy Marin and an ace by Niki Patriarca, the Blazers tied the game at 15. An ace by Stephanie Kirrstetter gave the Lady Blazers their first lead of the game 19-18. But after a few West Georgia kills, the Lady Blazers fell in game two 30-26. The Lady Blazers out-hit and out-dug the Lady Wolves in game three with a .353 hitting percentage and 17 digs. With a strong lead the entire game, VSU took the game 30-23. Game four proved to be a defensive game as neither team hit above .250. The Lady Blazers started off strong, winning 9-5 but UWG caught up after some sloppy offense, tying the game at 10. The Lady Blazers led the rest of the game, winning 30-18. Three players obtained double-doubles on the match. Laura Lee Atkinson led all players with 25 kills, a new season high,on 49 attempts with only five errors with a .408 hitting percentage, also adding 16 kills. Marin ended the match with 15 kills, a .406 hitting percentage and 14 kills while Kirrstetter netted 13 kills and 14 digs. Brittney Borg led the defense with 18 digs while Amy Lou Meisen-Vehrs threw up 32 assists. The Lady Blazers improve their record to 5-10, playing their next match at Albany State on September 18th at 6 p.m. .

Volleyball Begins Conference Play

2006-09-12

PENSACOLA, Fla.- The Valdosta State volleyball team played their first Gulf South Conference game, falling to West Florida in four games. The Argos (6-7) took an early lead in games one and two, going on an early 10-0 run in the first set, making the score 11-2 and eventually winning the games 30-19 and 30-17. The Argos led most of the third game, but VSU (4-10) held UWF to four game matches, winning 33-31. The Argos held VSU to a .000 hitting percentage in game four and led by as many as 16 before defeating the Blazers 30-15. Nancy Marin picked u her third double-double of the season with a team high 13 kills and 19 digs while Grace George had 12 kills, a .176 hitting percentage with two solo blocks and four block assists. Brittney Borg led the defense with 20 digs and Nikki Patriarca had 35 assists. The Lady Blazers continue conference play Thursday against West Georgia at 7 pm in the PE Complex

Lady Blazers Fall to Henderson, Harding

2006-09-09

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- The Valdosta State volleyball team continued play at the UAH Country Inn and Suites Volleyball Tournament in Huntsville, Alabama today, falling to Henderson University in four sets and Harding University in three sets. After losing the first game 30-17 to Henderson, the Lady Blazers (4-9) came back to win the second match 30-23, out-hitting the Lady Reddies (9-4) with a .308 hitting percentage. VSU allowed a .484 hitting percentage in the third game, losing 30-25 before the Lady Reddies eked past the Lady Blazers in the fourth set 30-28. The Lady Blazers hit .208 on the match and out-performed Henderson in digs (80) and total blocks (8). Two players for the Lady Blazers obtained double-doubles including Laura Lee Atkinson, ending the match with 13 kills and 17 digs, her seventh double-double of the season while setter Niki Patriarca tallied 35 assists and 18 digs, making it her fourth double-double performance of the year Stephanie Kirrstetter acquired 13 kills, hitting .225 with two aces and eight digs. Bentley Knox led all players with a .353 hitting percentage with seven kills on 17 attempts with only one error, adding two solo blocks. Grace George tallied 13 kills on the match with three solo blocks. In the latter match, Harding over-powered the Lady Blazers with their offense, hitting .378 as a team with 47 digs and 17 total blocks. After losing game one 30-10, VSU gave the Lady Bison a run, only losing by six (30-24) but falling the third game 30-15. Nancy Marin ended the game with six kills and seven digs while George had six kills with a team high .286 hitting percentage and four blocks. The Lady Blazers begin conference play on Tuesday, September 12 against West Florida.

Lady Blazers Split at UAH Tournament

2006-09-08

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- The Lady Blazers split a pair of matches at the UAH Country Inn and Suites Volleyball Tournament, defeating Christian Brothers but falling to Arkansas Tech. After losing the first game against CBU, 22-30, VSU's offense allowed them victories in the next two games, defeating the Lady Bucs (5-4) 30-22 and 30-20. In a close fourth match, the Lady Blazers came up short 31-29. The fifth and final game proved to be a roller coaster, with CBU taking a one-point lead, but freshman Stephanie Kirrstetter's defense was too much for the Lady Bucs as VSU took the game 15-11. The Lady Blazers played tremendous defense in the match, holding CBU to a .093 hitting percentage and 22 blocks. Kirrstetter finished the game with 11 digs and 10 kills while Nancy Marin led the team with 16 kills and a .355 hitting percentage. Senior Grace George hit .345 with only five errors on 15 kills. Setter Nikki Patriarca finished the match with 48 assists. The Lady Blazers fell to Arkansas Tech in their second match of the day in four games.. VSU lost the first game 30-26 with only a .048 hitting percentage but came back in the second game, to defeat the Golden Suns (10-3) 30-22. The Lady Blazers were out-hit by ATU, not even reaching a .100 hitting percentage either game, falling 30-27 and 21-30. Kirrstetter picked up a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, hitting .290 on the match while Marin netted a team high 14 kills and only four errors, hitting .312. George led both teams with four solo blocks and three block assists, also adding 11 kills. The Lady Blazers continue play tomorrow morning against Henderson University at 10:00 a.m.

Lady Blazers Split at UAH Tournament

2006-09-08

Lady Blazers Fall to Henderson, Harding

2006-09-06

Volleyball Picks Up Second Win

2006-09-02

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Stephanie Kirrstetter led the Lady Blazers to a 3-0 victory over the Jaguars at the Ramada Limited Azalea Classic with a .391 hitting percentage, 10 kills, three aces and five digs. VSU won the first game 30-26 but the Jaguar's tried to claw back in the second match losing 30-28. The Lady Blazers out-hit the Jaguar's in game three with a .317 hitting percentage, winning 31-29. The Lady Blazers (2-6) dominated at the net, ending the match with 21 total blocks, compared to the Jaguars four. Bentley Knox led the attack for the Blazers with one solo block and seven block assists. Setter Niki Patriarca led all players with 36 assists and also contributed two aces and 12 digs. The Jaguar's Sarah Lobstein ended the match with 11 kills and seven digs while Heather Lawrence led all players with 13 digs. IN OTHER ACTION AT THE RAMADA LIMITED AZALEA CLASSIC: Augusta State 3, Florida Tech 0 Sarah Lobstein and Jessica Howard led the offense for the Jaguar's in a straight three game win over Florida Tech. Lobstein recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs while Howard had 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Augusta State won 30-23 in game one and 30-20 in game two before claiming the match victory with a 30-25 victory in final game. Saint Leo 3, Coker 0 Saint Leo used a balance hitting attack that saw two players record double-digit kills to defeat Coker 3-0 The Lions won the first and second game by scores of 30-24 and 30-23, respectively, before winning the match with a score of 30-20 in the final game. Michelle Nogueras led all players with 33 assists while Emly Frey (10) and Audrey Starkebaum (14) led the attack with double-digit kills. Presbyterian 3, Florida Tech 1 Lauren Mason registered a game-high 14 kills to lead Presbyterian to a 3-1 victory over Florida Tech. The Blue Hose easily won the first game claiming a 30-23 victory but were defeated in game two 30-27. However, Presbyterian rebounded to pull out a 30-15 and 30-25 win in games three and four. The Panther's Lindsay Foster, the only other player to record double-digit kills, ended the match with 11 kills Valdosta State 3, Coker 2 Laura Lee Atkinson lrecorded another double-double on the season to lead the Lady Blazers to a 3-2 victory. VSU easily won the first match 30-21with a .400 hitting percentage but eked by the Cobra's in the second game 30-28. Coker fought back winning games three and four by scores of 30-27 and 30-26. The two teams battled back and forth in the fifth game until the Lady Blazers jumped ahead on a Stephanie Kirrstetter kill, winning the game 16-14. Atkinson led all players with 24 kills and also contributed two aces and 13 digs. Kirrstetter had 15 kills, two aces and led all players with 24 digs. Niki Patriarca threw up 43 assists and tallied 13 digs. The Cobras' Megan haupt recorded 16 kills and 20 digs. The Lady Blazers continue play at the Alabama-Huntsville Tournament on September 8.

Volleyball Picks Up Second Win

2006-09-02

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Stephanie Kirrstetter led the Lady Blazers to a 3-0 victory over the Jaguars at the Ramada Limited Azalea Classic with a .391 hitting percentage, 10 kills, three aces and five digs. VSU won the first game 30-26 but the Jaguar's tried to claw back in the second match losing 30-28. The Lady Blazers out-hit the Jaguar's in game three with a .317 hitting percentage, winning 31-29. The Lady Blazers (2-6) dominated at the net, ending the match with 21 total blocks, compared to the Jaguars four. Bentley Knox led the attack for the Blazers with one solo block and seven block assists. Setter Niki Patriarca led all players with 36 assists and also contributed two aces and 12 digs. The Jaguar's Sarah Lobstein ended the match with 11 kills and seven digs while Heather Lawrence led all players with 13 digs. IN OTHER ACTION AT THE RAMADA LIMITED AZALEA CLASSIC: Augusta State 3, Florida Tech 0 Sarah Lobstein and Jessica Howard led the offense for the Jaguar's in a straight three game win over Florida Tech. Lobstein recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs while Howard had 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Augusta State won 30-23 in game one and 30-20 in game two before claiming the match victory with a 30-25 victory in final game. Saint Leo 3, Coker 0 Saint Leo used a balance hitting attack that saw two players record double-digit kills to defeat Coker 3-0 The Lions won the first and second game by scores of 30-24 and 30-23, respectively, before winning the match with a score of 30-20 in the final game. Michelle Nogueras led all players with 33 assists while Emly Frey (10) and Audrey Starkebaum (14) led the attack with double-digit kills. Presbyterian 3, Florida Tech 1 Lauren Mason registered a game-high 14 kills to lead Presbyterian to a 3-1 victory over Florida Tech. The Blue Hose easily won the first game claiming a 30-23 victory but were defeated in game two 30-27. However, Presbyterian rebounded to pull out a 30-15 and 30-25 win in games three and four. The Panther's Lindsay Foster, the only other player to record double-digit kills, ended the match with 11 kills Valdostat State 3, Coker 2 Laura Lee Atkinson lrecorded another double-double on the season to lead the Lady Blazers to a 3-2 victory. VSU easily won the first match 30-21with a .400 hitting percentage but eked by the Cobra's in the second game 30-28. Coker fought back winning games three and four by scores of 30-27 and 30-26. The two teams battled back and forth in the fifth game until the Lady Blazers jumped ahead on a Stephanie Kirrstetter kill, winning the game 16-14. Atkinson led all players with 24 kills and also contributed two aces and 13 digs. Kirrstetter had 15 kills, two aces and led all players with 24 digs. Niki Patriarca threw up 43 assists and tallied 13 digs. The Cobras' Megan haupt recorded 16 kills and 20 digs. The Lady Blazers continue play at the Alabama-Huntsville Tournament on September 8.

Volleyball Defeats Florida Tech

2006-09-01

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Laura Lee Atkinson recorded a double-double to lead Valdosta State to a 3-0 victory over Florida Tech in the Ramada Limited Azalea Classic at the P.E. Complex Friday afternoon. The Lady Blazers (1-5) never trailed in the match as they jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first game en route to a 30-23 victory in game one. VSU hit just .047 in the game, but limited the Panthers (0-2) to a -.054 hitting percentage in the game. Valdosta State was even more dominant in the second game as it hit .194 and held FIT to a -.194 (8 kills, 16 errors in 48 attempts) to claim a 30-16 victory. Florida Tech jumped out to an 8-1 advantage in the third and final game before Valdosta State rallied to complete the sweep. The Lady Blazers tallied 18 kills and a .231 hitting percentage in the deciding game as they claimed a 30-25 win. Atkinson tallied 10 kills and 15 digs as the Lady Blazers improved their record to 1-5 on the season. Grace George had nine kills while three Blazers tallied seven each. Niki Patriarca tallied 37 assists and a team-high three aces. Frankie Brown tallied eight kills to lead the Panthers while Amanda Boyce had 17 assists and 10 digs. IN OTHER ACTION AT THE RAMADA LIMITED AZALEA CLASSIC: Augusta State 3, Coker 2 Sarah Lobstein had a match-high 21 kills to lead Augusta State to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Coker. Coker won the first two games of the match, winning 30-23 and 30-12, before the Lady Jaguars began their comeback. Augusta State won 30-21 in game three and 30-25 in game four before claiming the match victory with a 15-13 victory in the fifth and final game. Saint Leo 3, Presbyterian 1 Saint Leo used a balance hitting attack that saw three players record double-digit kills to defeat Presbyterian 3-1. The Lions eked out a 30-28 win in the first game before falling 30-20 in game two of the match. Saint Leo rebounded to win each of the final two games, winning 30-25 and 30-19. Chelsea Armer (16), Erin Oberlin (14) and Audrey Starkebaum (10) all recorded double-digit kills for the Lions. Saint Leo 3, Augusta State 1 Chelsea Armer registered a game-high 20 kills to lead Saint Leo to a 3-1 victory over Augusta State. The Lions easily won the first two games, claiming a 30-20 victory behind a .429 hitting percentage in game one before tallying a .650 hitting percentage and a 30-13 victory in game two. However, the Lady Jaguars rebounded to pull out a 31-29 victory in the third game before Saint Leo closed the match with a 30-25 victory in game three. Armer hit .298 for the match while Audrey Starkebaum hit .448 with 15 kills and just two errors on 29 attempts. Sarah Lobstein tallied 10 kills to lead Augusta State, but also committed 14 attack errors. Florida Tech 3, Coker 0 Florida Tech used a dominant defensive effort to defeat Coker 3-0. The Panthers limited the Cobras to a .000 hitting percentage for the match in earning the sweep. FIT claimed a 30-25 victory in the first game before holding off Coker for a pair of 30-28 victories in games two and three. Lindsay Foster had 10 kills to lead the Panthers while the Cobras were paced by Megan Haupt with eight. Presbyterian 3, Valdosta State 2 Four players reached double digit kills for the Lady Blazers in a close five-game match loss to the Blue Hose. VSU lost the first two games 30-28 and 30-24 but came back in game three, defeating the Blue Hose 30-26. In game four, the Lady Blazers hitting was too much for the Blue Hose to handle with a .476 hitting percentage, easily winning the game 30-16. The Lady Blazers were down by as many as five in game five before tying the score at 10. The Blue Hose pulled out the win by a score of 15-13. Laura Lee Atkinson led all players with 19 kills and also had a .265 hitting percentage, 16 digs and three block assists while teammate Nancy Marin led the Lady Blazers in digs and aces with 17 and 5, respectively. Stephanie Kirrstetter ended the match with 13 kills and 8 digs while Grace George contributed 12 kills, three aces, 11 digs and five block assists. Setting all five games, Niki Patriarca led all players with 52 assists while Bentley Knox led all players with eight block assists. Action continues tomorrow as the Lady Blazers take on Augusta State at 12 p.m. in the PE Complex.

Volleyball Defeats Florida Tech

2006-09-01

Volleyball Falls to Saint Leo

2006-08-31

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State lost a close game to St. Leo University in the first match of the Ramada Limited Azalea Classic on Thursday night. The Lady Blazers were slow in the first game, losing 30-26 but picked it up in games two and three, defeating the Lions 30-26 and 30-29, respectively. In game four, the Lady Blazers hit a .156 percent losing 30-28, but made a come from behind effort in game five but fell short with a final score of 15-11. Laura Lee Atkinson led her team in kills with 18 and added five aces and 17 digs. Nancy Marin had an impressive game with 15 kills, a .371 hitting percentage and 15 digs. Freshman Stephanie Kirrstetter collected 15 kills, a .300 hitting percentage and 10 digs. The Lady Blazers continue play tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. against Florida Tech in the PE Complex.

Lady Blazers Finish Fourth at St. Mary's Tournament

2006-08-26

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers lost two close matches to Colorado School of Mines and St. Mary's University on Saturday afternoon at the St. Mary's Tournament in San Antonio, Texas, finishing the tournament in fourth place. After losing the first and second games to CSM 30-25, the Lady Blazers (0-4) won the third game 30-26, hitting .255 on the game. But the Oredeiggers (1-2) were too much for the Lady Blazers to handle in the fourth game, with a final score of 30-25. The Lady Blazers had impressive stats on the match with a .161 hitting percentage, eight service aces and 73 digs. Laura Lee Atkinson and Bentley Knox both had season high kills with 16 and 13, respectively. Atkinson also contributed 22 digs while Knox's hitting percentage was the team's highest, .367. VSU was led by freshman Stephanie Kirrstetter with 17 kills, a .306 hitting percentage, three aces and 16 digs. The Orediggers' Amanda Rebol led her team with 16 kills, .a 243 hitting percentage and 10 digs. In the second match of the day, the Lady Blazers took St. Mary's to five close games. After losing the first game 32-30, VSU came back in game two by a score of 30-18 with a .500 hitting percentage. The Lady Blazers were defeated in game three (30-19) but forced a fifth game after winning 30-18 in game four. The Lady Blazers out-hit the Rattlers in game five with a .296 hitting percentage but it wasn't enough, falling 21-19. For the match, the Lady Blazers out-blocked the Rattlers (3-1) with eight solo blocks, Knox and Kirrsteter with two a piece.Knox also contributed 12 kills and a .381 hitting percentag while Kirrstetter again led the Lady Blazers offense with 16 kills. Atkinson, leading the Lady Blazers in kills this season with 48, had 13 kills, a .275 hitting percentage and led the team in digs with 16. Valerie Haven had 12 kills, 11 digs and led the team in hitting percentage with .440. The Rattlers Samantha Weber led all players with 18 kills and a .680 hitting percentage while teammate Mallary Moehrig contributed 16 kills, a .231 hitting percentage and 16 digs. VSU returns home on Thursday, August 31 to host the Ramada Limited Azalea Classic at 6 p.m. in the PE Complex.

Lady Blazers Finsh Fourth at St. Mary's Tournament

2006-08-26

Volleyball Falls Twice at St. Mary's Tournament

2006-08-25

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Lady Blazers lost both of their matches on Friday at the St. Mary's Tournament in San Antonio, Texas against the University of Alaska-Anchorage and Rollins College. The Seawolves (1-1) claimed a 30-18 victory in the first game before defeating the Lady Blazers (0-2) 30-27 in games two and three. Nancy Marin led the attack for the Lady Blazers with 7 kills and a .353 hitting percentage while Bentley Knox hit .267 with 8 kills. Laura Lee Atkinson led the team with 9 kills and 8 digs. Alaska-Anchorage's Paepaetele Poasa and Caitlin Grenier led all players with 7 and 8 kills respectively. Poasa also recorded a .143 hitting percentage, three aces and six digs. In the second match of the day, The Tars' (2-0) offense was too much for the Lady Blazers to handle as they fell to Rollins 30-20, 30-20, 30-27. Atkinson was once again a force at the net with 10 kills and a .214 hitting percentage while adding 8 digs. Knox recorded her first solo block of the season and a .200 hitting percentage. The Tars' Stephanie Nicholas led her team with 13 kills and a .407 hitting percentage. The Lady Blazers wrap up the St. Mary's Tournament on Saturday with matches against Colorado School of Mines at 1:30 p.m. and St. Mary's at 9 p.m. The first home match is on Thursday, August 31, at 6 p.m. as the Lady Blazers host the Ramada Limited Azalea Classic.

Volleyball Falls Twice at St. Mary's Tournament.

2006-08-25