Match Information – Valdosta State vs. Eckerd College
Score: Eckerd 3, Valdosta State 0 (25-20, 25-15, 26-24)
Records: VSU (2-4), Eckerd (4-1)
Location: The Complex Valdosta, Ga. 
 
VALDOSTA, Ga. – VSU fell to Eckerd in their first match of the VSU Fall Tournament but came back and won a thrilling five set victory over Arkansas Fort Smith. This was the second matchup of the Fall 2021 season between the Blazers and the Tritons and Eckerd came out on top both times. The victory over UAFS was an exciting five set comeback for the Blazers as freshman Jojo Smith recorded her first double double of the season with a season high of 27 kills and 16 digs.
 
First Set:
VSU started off slow in the first set and fell behind Eckerd 7-3 early in the set but two kills by freshman Jojo Smith changed the pace of the game.
 
 Eckerd came back and stopped the rally from VSU, but a kill by Kennedy Deluca made the score 13-11 in favor of Eckerd and sent Megan Stanton back to the serving line who looked to start a rally. The Tritons scored with a kill and a serving ace making the score 16-12 which led to a timeout called by Head Coach Kaleigh Zoucha. 
 
Coming out of the timeout, Smith recorded another kill with the help of Tammy Reyes-Perez. A block assisted by Kylie Stroehlein and Grace Daugherty made the score 17-15, still in favor of the Tritons. Eckerd went on a rally, scoring off three kills which brought the score to 20-15 and eventually saw the Tritons taking the first set 25-20.
 
Second Set:
Starting the second set with an error by Eckerd, sent VSU back to the line but was then followed by a Triton kill. The game continues to go back and forth between each team, but Eckerd slowly gained a lead after a few kills making the score 13-10. A kill by Blazer's Smith, assisted by Perez, was followed by a service error making the score 15-11 in favor of the Tritons. Coming out of a timeout, two hitting errors by the Blazer's sent the Tritons on a six-point lead. 
 
A kill by Stroehlein sent Lyara Rosario back to the line looking to start a rally but was shut down by a Triton kill. The Blazers continued to fight back after the six-point defecate but it was not enough as Eckerd went on to take the second set 25-15.
 
Third Set:
Eckerd started off the third set with a kill, but VSU bounced back with a kill by Smith, assisted by Perez.
 
 Just like the second set, VSU and Eckerd went back and forth with kills, but the Tritons took a two-point lead after a service ace, 5-3. 
After a timeout called by VSU, Stroehlein recorded two kills and Deluca picked up one, which made the score 11-7 in favor of the Tritons.
 
VSU fought back with a kill by Deluca but a service error by the Blazers gave the ball back to the Tritons which brought the score to 14-10 in favor of Eckerd.
 
The Blazers went on a scoring run and in combination with a block and kill by VSU's Deluca, tied the game at 15.
 
Setter Perez recorded an attack along with an ace by Rosario propelling the Blazers to take the lead 17-15.
 
Kills by Stroehlein and Smith, and a Triton hitting error caused Eckerd to take their second timeout at 21-17. A few Triton kills and a block brought Eckerd back into the game tying the score at 22.
 
Two service errors by both teams kept the score tied at 23. A VSU hitting error gave Eckerd the lead with 24 but was quickly tied again with a kill by Smith. An Eckerd kill and a VSU ball handling error led the Tritons to win the third set and match 26-24.
 
Inside the Numbers:
VSU tallied up a total of 36 kills on 105 attempts hitting a .190% while Smith led with 12 and following close behind was Stroehlein with 11 and Deluca with four. Perez led the Blazers with 29 assists and Rosario led with 10 digs followed by Stroehlein with nine and Ramsey Marshall with four. The Blazers had 5 blocks recorded by Deluca (20), Daugherty (3), and Mims (1). Also, Rosario recorded the one and only ace for VSU for the match.
 
Match Information – Valdosta State vs. Arkansas Fort Smith
Score: Valdosta State 3, Arkansas-Fort Smith 2 (25-18, 25-12, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12)
Records: VSU (3-4), UAFS (4-2)
Location: The Complex Valdosta, Ga. 
 
First Set:
Valdosta State started off strong the first set with a kill by Deona Mims from Tammy Reyes-Perez.
 
Two kills by UAFS and an attack error brought the Lions back on top 3-1. 
 
The lions started to build a lead against the Blazers 9-5 early in the set. After a timeout by VSU Head Coach Kaleigh Zoucha, the Blazers recorded a kill by Mims but was quickly met with a kill by the Lions, making the score 11-5. 
 
The Blazers scratched away at the lead with kills by Smith and Deluca, but a few errors kept the Lions ahead 17-11. 
Following another Blazer timeout, Stroehlein recorded two kills and headed back to the serving line herself and looked to start a rally. Blazers trailed 20-15 and fought to catch back up, but the Lions came out on top finishing the set 25-18.
 
Second Set:
The Lions record one kill, followed by a VSU attacking error making the score 2-0 to start off the second set.
 
Two kills by Smith and two service aces by Perez tie the score at four. Smith recorded another kill with the help of Rosario which put the Blazer's on top 5-4 and was followed by a Lion timeout. 
 
After a long rally, the Lions built a lead starting from an attacking error by VSU to make the score 10-7. 
 
The Blazers continued to fight back with a kill by Stroehlein, which made the score 13-9. The Lions proceeded to lead the set and finished the set 25-12.
 
Third Set:
Arkansas Fort Smith took the lead to begin the third set with an ace and an attacking error by VSU. A kill and solo block by VSU's Smith brought the game to 6-5 with the Lions still in the lead. 
 
After a UAFS timeout, Blazers proceeded to take the lead with a block by Deluca and two aces by Smith which made the score 12-7. 
 
After long rallies back and forth between each team, the Blazers continued to lead 17-11, but the Lions fought back and brought the score to 18-16. 
 
A UAFS kill and VSU attacking error tied the match at 18, but a service error by the Lions put the Blazers on top. 
 
With the score tied at 20, a block and kill by Smith and Caitlin Warnshuis put VSU on top. A service error by VSU made the score 24-22 and a kill by Smith led the Blazers to a 25-23 victory and forced a fourth set.
 
Fourth Set:
A service error by VSU started off the fourth set but the momentum quickly shifted with a kill from Smith. Perez followed with a kill and a service ace from Ah'Miah Harris made the score 3-1 in favor of the Blazers. 
 
VSU then went on to rally a few more points which forced a timeout by Arkansas Fort Smith at 6-3. 
 
UAFS scratched their way back and tied the game at 10 followed by long rallies back and forth between the Lions and the Blazers. VSU gained a three-point lead off kills by Stroehlein, Smith, and Deluca making the score 19-16 but was eventually evened out again by UAFS at 21. 
After a timeout, the Blazers came out strong and finished the set 25-22 forcing a decisive fifth set.
 
Fifth Set:
VSU started the fifth set off strong with a kill by Daugherty and Smith, but UAFS came back and scored with an ace and a kill making the score 5-2. 
 
Following a VSU timeout, a kill by Stroehlein sent Perez back to the serving line looking to start a rally. After the game being tied at six, both teams continued to rally back and forth before the Lions took the lead 7-8 with a service ace. 
 
The Blazers tied the game again with a kill by Jessie Mooney, but was followed by two Lion kills, which made the score 12-11, in favor of UAFS. 
 
An attack error by the Tigers tied the game up at 12, followed by a kill by Smith and Daugherty putting the Blazers on top. VSU finished the five-set thriller 15-12 with a kill by Smith.
 
Inside the Numbers:
VSU finished the match with 88 digs, 57 kills, 57 assists, 11 aces, and six blocks. Leading the Blazers in kills was freshman Smith as she recorded her first double-double of the season with a season high of 27 while adding 16 digs. Smith had a huge game, hitting a .271% with only 11 errors on 59 attempts while also adding three service aces and three blocks. Stroehlein added 13 kills along with Daugherty who added six. Perez led the Blazers with 48 assists with Rosario adding five. Also, Rosario recorded a team high of 29 digs followed by Perez with 18.
 
Upcoming:
The Blazers take on UNC Pembroke and Saint Leo tomorrow to finish up the second day of the VSU Fall Tournament at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. in The Complex. 
 
Following the home tournament, VSU is back on the road again September 17th at 4 p.m. vs. Georgia College in Milledgeville, Ga. 
 
For live stats, live steaming, and information on Blazer volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com, or follow Blazer Athletics on social media for updates.