Match Information – #16 West Florida at Valdosta State
Score: West Florida 3, Valdosta State 1 (25-17, 17-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Records: VSU (6-7, 0-1 GSC) / UWF (12-1, 1-0 GSC)
Location: Valdosta, Ga.
 
VALDOSTA, Ga. – Returning home for the first of two matches, the Valdosta State volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to No. 16 West Florida in the Gulf South Conference opener for both teams Tuesday evening.  
 
The Blazers were led by nine kills from graduate student Deona Mims, while junior Jessie Mooney and freshman Kylie Stroehlein each had eight kills.  Senior Tammy Reyes-Perez finished with a double-double with 33 assists and 11 digs, while Mooney also had 11 digs and Stroehlein had a team-high 14 digs.  VSU hit .215 for the match with 44 kills in 135 swings.  
 
UWF was led by 22 kills from Veresia Yon, while Alex Oliver added 14 kills and a team-high 15 digs and Tyler Fezzey had 12 kills.  Taylor VanEkeren had 48 assists and eight kills for the match.  The Argos hit .284 with 65 kills in 148 swings.  
 
FIRST SET
The Argos jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set, but three-straight points from the Blazers got the crowd of 207 fired up as Reyes-Perez put in a kill from redshirt freshman Lyara Rosario for a 7-6 deficit.  UWF extended the lead to 10-7 and then to 18-10 an an 11-4 run.  VSU made a late rally pulling within 23-16, but kills from Yon and VanEkeren gave UWF a 25-17 victory.  UWF had 17 kills in the first set to just three errors for a team-high .368 attack percentage, while VSU had 12 kills and five errors for a .194 clip in the opening frame.
 
SECOND SET
Once again, the Argos jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but the Blazers roared back with a 6-0 run as Rosario served three-straight and recorded two aces during the rally for a 7-5 lead.  The Blazers stretched the lead to 13-9 for the largest lead of the set to that point on an ace from Reyes-Perez.  She and Mims each had three aces as the Blazers had nine for the match.  Kills from Mooney and Mims put VSU up 16-11 and then Mims took over with a kill and another ace for a 20-12 lead and a 7-2 run.  The Argos would pull within 22-17, but the Blazers responded with three-straight points on an error and two aces from Reyes-Perez for the 25-17 win.  VSU recorded ten kills in the set with just one error for a match-high .346 attack percentage and the team recorded six aces in the frame.  
 
THIRD SET
With renewed momentum, the Blazers looked to carry it into the third set.  VSU built a 6-3 lead and then held a 9-6 advantage, but the Argos pulled within 7-6 on a miscue by the Blazers.  VSU responded, once again, stretching the lead to 12-7 and then 15-10, but the Argos would continue to slowly chip away with a 9-3 run for a 19-18 lead on a kill from Yon.  VSU responded and tied the set at 19 on a kill from Mooney and the set would be knotted at 20 while Stroehlein had a great kill for a 21-20 lead.  From there, UWF scored the final five points of the set for the 25-21 victory.
 
FOURTH SET
In the fourth set, the Blazers built and early 7-4 lead with a 5-0 run.  UWF tied the set at eight and then took a 13-9 lead with a 9-2 spurt.  A kill from Stroehlein ended the run for a 13-10 deficit.  The Argos stretched the lead to 17-12 on a kill from Yon, but the Blazers pulled within 20-15 on a miscue.  From there, UWF stretched the lead to 22-17 and went on for the 25-20 victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Blazers continue at home on Friday at 6 p.m. versus West Georgia at The Complex.  Following the match, VSU has a week off before its first conference road trip of the season at Christian Brothers and Union Oct. 1-2.