Match Information
Score: Valdosta State University 3, Lee 2 (26-24, 25-27, 25-23, 18-25, 15-9)
Records: VSU (1-6, 1-3 GSC), Lee (3-2, 2-2 GSC)
Location: Winthrop-King Centre – Shorter University
 
ROME, Ga. - The Blazers earned its first win of the Spring Championship Series after a hard fought five-set win over Lee. For the second night in a row, freshman Caitlin Warnshuis took complete control of the game and led the Blazers with 26 kills for a .213 hitting percentage. Jessie Mooney and Kennedy DeLuca both came down with the second-most, accounting for 14 points off kills. Tammy Reyes Perez was busy on the court where she assisted on 55 points. VSU finished the day with 68 kills and 27 errors and accounted for four service aces.
 
First Set:
An attack error from the Flames followed by a Zoey Chilcote kill got things started for the Blazers, putting itself up one early on. The Flames came right back and answered with two of its own to put itself back ahead but the first of many Warnshuis kills knotted it back up. A common occurrence during the first set, the game saw 17 ties along with 11 lead changes with the largest lead being two coming from the Blazers on a few occasions. The Blazers appeared to be pulling away, taking advantage of two straight errors from the Flames to put it ahead 11-9 but the Flames seemed to have an answer to tie it up. The Blazers remained in control though, as it regained the lead after the many ties until Lee pushed ahead at 15-14. Warnshuis came down with a key kill to tie it up but Lee came right back to take a one-point advantage. Mooney tacked on an ace to pull ahead by one late in the set, but Lee didn't count itself out as it came down with two points to take a late 21-20 lead. The set came down to the wire as VSU went up 23-22 but Lee came right back to give it a set point at 24-23, putting all the pressure on the Blazers. It was no sweat though as big attack errors from the Flames put the Blazers up 25-24, setting DeLuca up to end the set with a kill to take set one, 26-24.
 
Second Set:
The Flames got off to an early lead but was quickly chased out of the position where Warnshuis was able to tie things up. Just like set one, the game went back and forth early, on six ties and five lead changes leading up to 8-8. At that mark, the Flames caught fire and scored six of the next eight points to give it a promising 14-10 advantage. The Blazers struggled to close the gap as the set turned to a five-point deficit late but Warnshuis turned the tides with a kill. From then, the Blazers were able to close the gap and eventually take a 23-22 lead. VSU came one point away from putting the set to bed, up 24-22, but the Flames took two quick points to tie it up at 24. An error gave the Blazers its third set-point at 25-24 but couldn't take control as the Flames went on a three-point run to take set two, 27-25.
 
Third Set:
The Flames looked in control scoring three straight points to start the set before Chilcote put the Blazers on the board. The Flames went up 5-2 but a five-point swing quickly saw the lead turn to the Blazers. VSU remained in control until the 11-point mark as Lee regained its lead from earlier midway through the set before Warnshuis broke it up with a kill. The Blazers took the lead for a moment, but Lee came right back to defend itself and went up big towards the end, up 20-16. The Blazers battled back from down four to tie things up at 22 off a Mooney ace. Lee tried to close things out with a kill and the Blazers stopped it in its tracks, scoring three straight points to take the set.
 
Fourth Set:
Now up two sets to one, the Blazers looked to gain an edge and take down the Flames for its first win of the season. The Flames would take the first point of the set for the fourth-straight set as the Blazers were able to answer from a Warnshuis kill. The freshman was dominate in the beginning of the set where she accounted for four of the Blazers first five points. The Blazers looked to have run away with the set, going up 11-5, but Lee came storming and was able to take 13 of the next 15 points. The Blazers were now down 18-13, a lead it wasn't able to come back from. VSU made it close after an error to make it 20-17, however, Lee scored five of the next six to force a fifth set
 
Fifth Set:
The make-or-break set saw the Flames take a fifth-straight leadoff point as the Blazers tied it at one and didn't look back from there. The Flames kept it relatively close until DeLuca started a 4-0 run to put the Blazers up 8-3 in the deciding set. Lee made it a two-point game at 9-7 where VSU came back and scored two quick ones to put it up four. With the scoreboard at 11-7, the Blazers had a large enough lead to allow Lee to record its last two points of the set as the Blazers rolled and got its last four points, capped off by Warnshuis.
 
Inside the Numbers:
Warnshuis recorded a team season-high 26 kills for the first Blazer to record over 20 kills since August 31, 2018 and the most within the last 10 years. As a team, Valdosta State hit at a .225 percent where it edged Lee who finished with a .170 percentage. Lyara Rosario Hernandez led the team in digs once again with 31 as the Blazers defense totaled 91.
 
UP NEXT:
The Blazers continue on the road to face off against West Georgia next Saturday in Carrollton, Ga. at 3 p.m. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the volleyball schedule page.