VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team travels to Tennessee this weekend to play two conference matches followed by a non-conference match in Atlanta, Ga. on Monday versus Clark Atlanta.
 
The Blazers (6-8, 0-2 GSC) head to Memphis, Tenn., for a Gulf South Conference match at Christian Brothers Friday at 7 p.m. ET., and then at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.  VSU then will head to Atlanta to battle Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) member Clark Atlanta Monday at 6 p.m.
 
The Blazers look to bounce back from their last matchup with Christian Brothers on October 25, 2019, when the Buccaneers took the match 3-0.
 
Christian Brothers enters the week with a 2-13 record overall and a 0-3 mark in GSC play, with losses on the road to Union, Shorter and Lee.  CBU has lost six-straight matches all in straight-sets dating back to wins over Erskine and Fisk (Tenn.) on Sept. 11. 
 
Since 2006, CBU owns an 11-8 record in the series with VSU and has won four of the last five meetings and six of the last ten.   VSU is 2-6 in Memphis against CBU and the last win there came in a 3-1 decision on Nov. 6, 2015.  CBU won in straight-sets in the previous meeting on Oct. 25, 2019, also in Memphis.
 
Union is scheduled to entertain West Georgia Friday evening before VSU visits on Saturday.  The Bulldogs are 8-6 overall and 1-2 in league play with a win over CBU and losses to Lee and Shorter.  VSU has won 12 of 14 matches in the series since 2012 and nine of the last ten in the series.  VSU won 3-1 in Montgomery, Ala., on Mar. 26, 2021, in the GSC Spring Championship Series, while Union won 3-1 in Jackson, Tenn., on Oct. 26, 2019.  The Blazers are 5-2 all-time in Jackson with the last victory there coming on Oct. 7, 2017, in a thrilling 3-2 victory and 16-14 in the decisive set.
 
The road trip continues Monday at Clark Atlanta as the Panthers are 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the SIAC.  Clark Atlanta won its last time out with a 3-0 victory over Miles College on Sept. 26 and will be off until facing the Blazers on Monday.  The Lady Panthers were picked third in the SIAC East Division and had two players named to the All-SIAC Preseason Team in Kia Thomas and Lauryn Terry who both earned second team honors.  Thomas earned SIAC Most Valuable Player honors as a freshman and was a first team all-league selection as a sophomore. 
 
VSU is 1-0 all-time against Clark Atlanta since Sept. 7, 2012, as it won a 3-0 decision in Boca Raton, Fla., that day.  
 
The Blazers are coming off two tough losses to then-No. 16 West Florida (3-1) and a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to West Georgia.  VSU battled back and won the second set versus West Florida on Sept. 21 with a convincing 25-17 victory, but the Argos responded with a 25-21 victory in the third set and a 25-20 win in the fourth set.  Despite the loss, VSU had a team-high nine kills from graduate student Deona Mims and eight kills from senior Jessie Mooney and freshman Kylie Stroehlein.  Stroehlein finished with a team-high 14 digs and senior Tammy Reyes-Perez had 33 assists. 
 
Against the Wolves, UWG won the first set and VSU battled back for a 25-14 vicotry in the second set.  VSU then took a 2-1 lead with a 25-17 win in the third set, but a 25-21 victory from UWG in the fourth set and a 15-11 win in the decisive set handed the Blazers the loss.  Mims had a team-high 16 kills in the match, while Stroehlein added 11 kills.  Redshirt freshman Lyara Rosario had a team-high 31 digs and Reyes-Perez had 47 assists.  Stroehlein recorded 19 digs for a double-double.  
 
For the season, VSU is second in the GSC in total digs with 877 for 29^th nationally, while it is 22^nd nationally in attacks and second in the league with 1,972.  Individually, Reyes-Perez is fourth in the GSC in assists per set (8.91), while she is fourth in the league in aces (21) and is 23^rd nationally (second in GSC) in total assists with 481.  Rosario is 29^th nationally and leads the GSC in total digs with 251, while Stroehlein is 39^th nationally and second in the GSC in total attacks (488).  
 
Following the road trip, VSU returns home to host Lee and Shorter on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, respectively, at The Complex.  

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