Match Information
Score:Â Valdosta State 3, Edward Waters 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-18)
Records:Â VSU (2-3), EWU (1-3)
Location:Â Valdosta, Ga. (The Complex)
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The Valdosta State volleyball team opened the 2021 home slate with a 3-0 victory over visiting Edward Waters University Tuesday evening at The Complex.  VSU improved to 2-3 on the season while Edward Waters fell to 1-3.  Senior
Jessie Mooney paced the team with her third double-double of the year registering 12 kills and ten digs. Â
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First Set:Â
The Blazers rattled off six of eight points to build a 13-8 lead capped with a miscue from the Tigers.  EWU responded and pulled within 13-12, but the Blazers closed the set on an 11-2 run for a 25-14 victory.  Both senior
Tammy Reyes-Perez and redshirt freshman
Lyara Rosario each had long runs serving to close out the set.  The Blazer hit a match-high .467 for the set with 16 kills and just two errors in 30 swings.Â
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Second Set:Â
Once again, the Blazers broke open a tight set with a 6-1 run for a 14-9 lead on a kill from sophomore Kennedy Deluca.  It capped a string of five-straight serves from Reyes-Perez.  Later, VSU ended a mini rally by EWU for a 17-16 score on a great kill from Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week
Kylie Stroehlein.  After EWU tied the set on the next point at 17, VSU used another big run to close the set, scoring eight of the final ten points for the 25-19 win.  VSU had 14 kills with five errors in 28 swings in the second set for a .321 average, while EWU hit .083 with eight kills and six errors in 24 attempts.
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Third Set:
Just as in the previous two sets, the Blazers put the match away with five-straight points for an 18-12 advantage.  Graduate student
Grace Daugherty put away a kill for a 20-15 score and Mooney had the final kill of the match for a 25-18 victory in the third set.Â
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Inside the Numbers:Â
- The Blazers hit .356 for the match with 44 kills and 12 errors in 90 swings. Â
- Mooney recorded her third double-double in the last four matches, while Stroehlein added 11 kills marking her third-straight match of double-digit kills.
- Reyes-Perez tallied a season-high 36 assists for the match, along with seven digs as she ironically has had seven digs in each of the five matches thus far this season.
- The Tigers, who are transitioning to NCAA Division II and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) hit .098 for the match with 30 kills and 21 errors in 92 attempts.
- Edward Waters had 15 kills and 12 digs from Saldy Amparo Smith.
- Without having any blocks in the first two sets for the Blazers, VSU responded with five blocks in the third set, including solo rejections from graduate student Deona Mims and Daugherty.  Deluca and Stroehlein each had two block assists. Â
- The win marked the first three-set sweep of an opponent for the Blazers this season.
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Coming Up:
The Blazers host the VSU Fall Tournament this coming Friday and Saturday at The Complex.  There will be two courts running for the tournament each day as the Blazers face Eckerd at 1 p.m. on Friday and Arkansas-Fort Smith at 5 p.m., while they will battle UNC Pembroke at 11 a.m. Saturday and Saint Leo at 5 p.m. Saturday.  Check back with vstateblazers.com on the volleyball schedule page for the complete list of games and times for the tournament this weekend.
