AIKEN, S.C. – The Valdosta State volleyball team opened the 2019 Pacer Invitational with a 3-0 win over Converse Friday afternoon.    
 
The Blazers (6-4) dominated the match from the get go as it won the first set 25-10, while holding the Valkyries to negative numbers in the second set for a 25-14 win and closed with a 25-17 win in the third set.  VSU hit .433 for the first set with 15 kills and two errors, while then hitting a season-best .471 in the final stanza with 17 kills and one error.  For the match, VSU had 45 kills with a season-low seven errors in 93 swings.  
 
Converse (1-9) hit .000 in the first set, -.088 in the second and .086 in the third for 20 kills and 20 errors in 104 swings.  For the Blazers, sophomore Jessie Mooney and junior Grace Daugherty had eight kills apiece, while senior Daria Powell had seven kills.  Daugherty and Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Week Kayla Widera had three blocks each, while junior Tammy Reyes Perez added 32 assists.  Junior Rebecca Sills continued her strong start to the season with 15 digs to lead the team.
 
The Blazers came out firing on all cylinders from the start as the team raced out to a 7-3 lead and scored 15 of the first 22 points.  Five-straight serves from junior Brandi McGee pushed the lead to 21-8 as the Blazers opened the match with the 25-10 win.  
 
Errors proved costly for the Valkyries in the second set as VSU reached set point winning 24 of the first 35 points, but three-straight serves from Converse cut the deficit to 24-14.  VSU freshman Keelyn Williams tallied one of her six kills for the 25-14 victory.  
 
A 3-0 spurt by the Blazers in the third set, breaking an 8-8 tie gave VSU what it needed to cruise for the sweep as VSU outscored Converse 17-9 the rest of the way for the second-straight win over the Valkyries in as many years.  The teams met last season in Spartanburg, S.C., with the Blazers also winning 3-0.
 
VSU returns to action at 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon against UNC Pembroke.  The match against UNCP will not have live stats or streaming due to multiple courts going at the same time.  Check back following the match to vstateblazers.com for a complete recap and stats of the match.