Florence, Ala. - The Valdosta State Blazer volleyball squad faced a tough challenge in Florence, Ala. against a much improved North Alabama team, and the result on Friday night in Flowers Hall was an unfavorable one, as the Blazers fell to the Lions 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 14-25, 25-16).

After falling in two tight sets to begin the match, the Blazers showed signs of life in the third game with ten kills in 29 attempts and just one attack error for a team hitting percentage of .310. The surge led VSU to a lopsided 25-14 victory, but the Blazers were unable to sustain the momentum and dropped the fourth and final set 25-16.

The Lions error total was higher than Valdosta State's on the night, but UNA was still able to edge out the Blazers in the hitting percentage column (.212 to .141) thanks to a kill tally of 59 against VSU's 44.

With the exception of a solid .333 hitting performance by junior Kelsey Hedman (9 Kills, 1 error, 24 attempts), Valdosta State was unable to find an offensive rhythm in the contest. Although Lea Jaklen led in the kill column with 11 and Jenna Kirkwood added ten kills of her own, no player other than Kedman hit for better than .200 on the night.

The loss dropped the Blazers to 6-3 overall and an even 3-3 in Gulf South Conference play, while the Lions boosted their record to 8-4 overall, 6-2 in GSC play.

The Blazers have a quick chance to lift their GSC record back up above .500 on Saturday with another road match against the Lady Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville. The match is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. EST in Huntsville, Ala.

Live coverage of the match can be found right here at www.vstateblazers.com.