LAKELAND, Fla. - The Valdosta State volleyball team fell 0-3 (25-17, 25-12, 25-21) to No. 25 Florida Southern on Saturday in the South Region Crossover in Lakeland, Fla., but not before the Blazers took a 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19) match over Saint Leo to open up the second day of the tournament.

The split placed the Blazers at 14-6 overall on the season, while the Lions fell to 14-8 and Florida Southern upped their season stint to 16-4.

Valdosta State saw four players swing for 13 or more kills in the first set, and the club posted a collective .290 hitting percentage against a .176 effort by the Lions. Destiny Berry racked up a team high 14 kills with a .417 percentage, while Jessica Codato topped the half-century mark with 51 assists. Kelsey Hedman made a big splash as well on the attack with 13 kills in 25 attempts with only one error (.480).

Ashley Lala added 22 digs to pace VSU's defensive effort in the opener, while Berry, Hedman, and Jenna Kirkwood earned three blocks each. As a team, Valdosta State posted 12 blocks, three of which were solo denials.

Lala finished the weekend with 67 digs, which increased her total on the week to 92. The senior libero needs just one more dig to reach the 1300 mark for her career.

VSU topped Florida Southern 10-8 in the blocking column in the second match of the day, but the Blazers were unable to find a spark on the attack and swung for just .108 as a team, despite a .409 (10 kills, 22 attacks, 1 error) percentage by freshman Lea Jaklen. The Moccasins controlled the contest from the outset with a .359 hitting percentage and six service aces.

Kirkwood, who connected for a whopping 50 kills and racked up 34 digs on the weekend, was named to the All-Tournament team.

Next up for the Blazers is a huge Gulf South Conference contest against the West Florida Argonauts on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. at The Complex. The Argonauts and the Blazers will enter the matchup as the second and third place teams in the Gulf South Conference, respectively.