VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a 13-20 record during the 2019 season, the Valdosta State volleyball team was picked third in the preseason Gulf South Conference Spring Championship Series-Group B Poll, announced Friday. VSU junior Jessie Mooney and sophomore Keelyn Williams were named to the GSC returning players watchlist and junior Olivia Piazza and freshman Caitlin Warnshuis were listed as top newcomers.
 
The Blazers received 17 points, tied with Montevallo for third on the poll. West Georgia is the favorite, having received four first place votes to go along with its 23 points, followed by Auburn Montgomery with 18 points and one first place vote. Lee rounds out the top five with 10 points while Shorter is sixth with just five points.
 
In Group A, Alabama Huntsville leads with 15 points and three first place votes, followed by Union with two first place votes and 14 points, Mississippi College in the third spot with nine points, West Alabama at four with eight points, and Christian Brothers at five with four points.
 
The head coaches voted in the preseason poll for their own groups. Teams in Group A received four points for a first place vote, three for a second place vote, etc. Teams in Group B received five points for a first place vote, four for a second place vote, etc. The head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Number of first place votes in parenthesis.
 
Mooney returns as the Blazers top hitter where she played in all 33 matches with 24 starts and 113 sets. She finished second on the team in kills with 261 while hitting .110 for the season in a team-high 1,072 swings. She had 27 assists on the year with 21 aces for third on the team in 380 serves for a .934 average. The junior recorded 353 digs for second on the team, while finishing with 48 total blocks and seven solo blocks and scored 309.5 points for second-most on the team.
 
Another Blazer to look out for is Williams who played in 30 matches with three starts and saw action in 74 sets. The sophomore had 95 kills on the year and a .130 average in 299 swings and recorded two assists on the year and one ace. She had 30 digs with 11 assisted blocks, while she scored 101.5 points for the season.
 
Piazza, a transfer from Hillsborough Community College, saw action in 69 matches and 228 sets during her two years. She tallied 475 kills for a 2.08 average per set along with 1566 swings for a .149 average. The junior recorded 42 aces with 734 digs and 68 total blocks with 25 solo rejections and scored 563.5 points for her career. Piazza earned first team all-conference as a freshman and second team all-conference as a sophomore, while earning all-state honors as a sophomore.
 
A freshman coming to the court, Warnshuis comes a long way from Southfield Christian School in Canton, Mich. while also having played for Plymouth Christian Academy. In 2017, she earned second team all-conference, first team all-region and third team all-state honors for the state championship team (Plymouth). In 2018, Warnshuis helped lead her team to a runner-up finish at the USAV Nationals with MI Elite 16 and was a first team all-conference, first team all-region and third team all-state selection. In 2019, she helped lead her team to the AAU National Championship title with Legacy Volleyball.
 
VSU is under the direction of head coach Kaleigh Zoucha who enters her third season at Valdosta State where she is 28-38 (15-17 GSC) at the helm.
 
The Blazers finished the 2019 season with a 13-20 overall record while going 5-11 in conference play. VSU totaled 1,274 kills during the 2019 season for a .164 hitting percentage to go along with its 129 service aces. Also on the court, VSU averaged 2.1 blocks per set, edging its opponents by .3.
 
Valdosta State opened its season at home with a 3-0 set loss against Flagler. The Blazers are back in action Friday, Feb. 19 to face off against Flagler on the road, with first serve set for 6 p.m. VSU then returns back home to face both Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery Mar. 6. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the volleyball schedule page.