VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team returns home to Gulf South Conference play with two games at The Complex this weekend. The Blazers welcome Lee University on Friday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m., followed by a match against Shorter University on Saturday at 3 p.m.  VSU then will return the favor to Lee for a Tuesday, Oct. 12 match at 6 p.m., in Cleveland, Tenn.
 
Coming off a three-match road trip with stops in Memphis and Jackson, Tenn., along with a non-conference matchup at Clark Atlanta, VSU went 2-1 as it downed Christian Brothers (3-1) and Clark Atlanta (3-0) and lost to Union (3-0). VSU is 8-9 overall and 1-3 in GSC play.  
 
Lee enters the week with a 4-8 record overall and a 2-2 mark in GSC Play.  The Flames have dropped their last three matches to Shorter (3-1) and Alabama Huntsville (3-0), along with a non-conference loss to Emory (3-1) in Atlanta.  Prior to that, Lee had won three-straight and four of five.   
 
The Flames are swinging .172 for the season with 528 kills in 1616 attempts.  Lee has 53 aces with 494 assists, along with 684 digs and 46 total blocks.  The Flames are fourth in the GSC in assists per set at 11.23, while they are third in team attack per set (36.73).  Individually, Emma Flowers is third in the GSC in kills per set at 3.31.  She is second on the team in kills with 129, while Allie Whittinghill leads the team with 137 kills and is fifth in the GSC in kills per set (3.11).  Reagan Bratton leads the team with 284 assists this season and is sixth in the GSC in assists per set at an 8.35 clip.  Kamryn Halpin leads the team with 125 digs and carries a 2.91 digs per set mark to lead the team.  Scottie Cook leads the team with 22 total blocks, including five solo rejections. 
 
Head coach Callie Murphy is in her first season at the helm of the Flames as she was hired in May as the third head coach in program history.  Murphy is no stranger to the GSC as she was a four-year starter at West Alabama (2013-16).  Prior to her current position at Lee, Murphy served two seasons as an assistant coach at Cedarville University in Ohio.  
 
VSU leads the series since 2013 with a 7-6 record and has won the last two matches, including a thrilling 3-2 victory on Mar. 13, 2021, at Shorter.  VSU won the decisive set 15-9 and hit .225 for the match. Freshman, Caitlin Warnshuis, had a career-high 26 kills, while senior Jessie Mooney added 14 as did sophomore Kennedy Deluca.  Mooney also recorded 14 digs for a double-double.  Senior Tammy Reyes-Perez had 55 assists, while redshirt freshman Lyara Rosario had 31 digs.  The Blazers have won four of the last six matches in Valdosta, including a 3-0 victory on Sept. 27, 2019.  VSU is 2-4 in Cleveland, Tenn., and has not won there since a 3-0 victory on Sept. 26, 2015, dropping its last three there.
 
Shorter, who was selected 11^th in the GSC Preseason Coaches' Poll, has had a great start to the season as it is 11-4 on the year and boasts a perfect 4-0 mark in GSC play.  The Hawks have won seven-straight matches and will travel to West Georgia before heading down to Valdosta for Saturday's match.  Since a 3-2 victory over Augusta on Sept. 22, the Hawks have won 12 of 14 sets played in victories over Christian Brothers, Union, Lee and at Montevallo.  During the seven-match winning streak, the Hawks have won 21 of 26 sets.  Shorter and West Florida (6-0) are the only two unbeaten teams in league play in the GSC.
 
The Hawks enter the week leading the GSC in aces per set a 2.04 for 33^rd nationally.  They are third in the GSC in total aces with 110 also good for 33^rd nationally.  Shorter has recorded 655 kills with 593 assists and 792 digs for the season.  The Hawks are hitting at a .184 clip for sixth in the GSC in 1,891 attacks.  
 
Individually, Carrington Terrell is 16^th nationally and second in the GSC in blocks per set at 1.27, while she leads the team with 57 total blocks for fourth in the league.  Lacee Glover is third in the GSC in total kills (184), while she is second in the conference in kills per set (3.47) and third in points per set at a 4.06 clip.  Madison Sprosty leads the team with 27 aces for second in the league and 32^nd nationally, while Glover is fourth in the league with 25 aces for 47^th nationally.  Glover is fifth in the GSC in total attacks with 508.  
 
Shorter leads the all-time series 8-7 since 2013 and won 3-0 in Rome, Ga., in the spring.  VSU had won the previous two matches, but the Hawks have won five of the last seven.  The Blazers have won four of seven meetings in Valdosta.
 
Lee was picked eighth in the GSC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while VSU was ninth and Shorter was selected 11^th.  
 
The Blazers are heading into the weekend after freshman, Jojo Smith, earned GSC Freshman of the Week award for the second time.  Smith had a stellar week playing in seven sets, totaling 23 kills, recording 3.29 kills per set and a .164 hitting percentage. A total of 11 kills were during the win against Christian Brothers, where Smith also totaled 13 digs, recording another double-double of the season.  She added 19 digs, two solo blocks, and four block assists for the week. 
 
For the season, Smith has played in 24 sets, with 87 kills and hitting .159.  She has 51 digs, five service aces, nine block assists, three solo blocks, and has scored 99.5 points.  She leads the team in points per set at a 4.15 clip.  
 
VSU is third in the GSC in total digs with 1,016 for 33^rd nationally, while it is 22^nd nationally in attacks and second in the league with 2,320 this season.  Individually, Reyes-Perez is third in the GSC in assists per set (9.14), while she is 85^th nationally (second in GSC) in total assists with 585. Rosario is 36^th nationally and fourth in the GSC in total digs with 290, while Stroehlein is 36^thnationally in total attacks with 581.  Stroehlein leads the team with 158 kills, while graduate student Deona Mims is second with 125 and Mooney is third with 112. 
 
VSU head coach Kaleigh Zoucha is in her fourth season at the helm of the Blazers.  She is 2-1 against both Lee and Shorter.   
 
Following the three matches, VSU continues at home next Friday (Oct. 15) at 6 p.m. versus West Alabama and then at home on Oct. 20 against Mississippi College.  

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