LAKELAND, Fla. - The Valdosta State volleyball team saw their recent winning streak come to an end at the South Region Crossover Tournament in Lakeland, Fla. after suffering a pair of losses to Eckerd and Tampa on Friday.

VSU's day began with a heartbreaking 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12) loss to the Tritons before No. 1 ranked Tampa handed the Blazers a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) loss.

Jenna Kirkwood secured her third double-double of the season and the fifth of her career in the first match of the day, but an uncharacteristically anemic blocking effort by the Blazers resulted in the game one region loss. Kirkwood's 23 kills tied the senior's career high in match kills, a mark she set almost exactly one year ago on October 18, 2013 against, ironically enough, the Eckerd Tritons. 

The Blazers got off to a slow start in the early morning contest against the Tritons and dropped the first set to fall behind 1-0. Eckerd jumped out to a quick lead and held on to the advantage until the Blazers climbed back into to the set to force a 20-20 tie. The teams traded the next four points before Eckerd used two Tjasa Kotnik kills and an attack error by the Blazers to surge for three straight points and a 25-22 win.

Valdosta State responded in a big way in set two when Destiny Berry and Kirkwood teamed up for three straight kills to open up a 3-0 lead. The red and black never looked back, and locked the contest back up at 1-1 with a convincing 25-16 win in the second set.

In the third frame, the Blazers fell behind 16-21 late in the set before threatening with a late push. The effort was too little too late, however, as VSU fell 25-21 despite outscoring the Tritons 5-4 down the stretch.

Facing a 2-1 deficit, VSU benefitted from a series of costly errors and a surge by Kelsey Hedman on offense to rebound with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.

The deciding set was a tight one that included seven ties. The Tritons prevailed in the end, however, with a 5-2 run after a 10-10 tie.

Ashley Lala picked up 25 digs, which matched a new career high mark that the senior set just three nights ago in a victory over the Rollins Tars at The Complex.

Tampa displayed a high powered offense in the second match of the day and outhit the Blazers .371 to .165. Berkley Whaley led the charge for the Spartans with 14 kills in 33 attempts for a .333 percentage, while Marissa Lisenbee connected for 13 kills in 19 attempts for a .632 effort.

Berry swung for a .412 percentage for the Blazers with seven kills and no errors, but no Blazer reached the double-digit mark in the kill column.

Valdosta State fell to 13-5 overall after the pair of non-conference losses, while Eckerd improved to 11-8 and Tampa lifted their overall record to 17-1.

The Blazers will look for redemption tomorrow with two more matches, starting with an 11:00 a.m. contest against the Lions of Saint Leo. The crossover tournament concludes tomorrow night against the host Moccasins of Florida Southern. Blazer Nation can follow the action live right here at www.vstateblazers.com.