VALDOSTA, Ga. – Fresh off its 2021 home-opening victory, the Valdosta State volleyball team hosts the VSU Fall Tournament Sept. 10-11 at The Complex.  
 
The VSU Fall Tournament consists of six teams including the Blazers, Albany State, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Eckerd, Saint Leo and UNC Pembroke. The tournament starts both days at 9 a.m. and will feature two courts running simultaneously.  See schedule below of teams and match times.
 
Friday September 10th

Albany State vs. Arkansas- Fort Smith	9 a.m.	Court 1
Saint Leo vs. UNC Pembroke	11 a.m.	Court 2
VSU vs. Eckerd	1 p.m.	Court 1
Albany State vs. Saint Leo	3:00 p.m.	Court 2
VSU vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith	5:00 p.m.	Court 1
UNC Pembroke vs. Eckerd	7:00 p.m.	Court 2

 
Saturday September 11th

Arkansas- Fort Smith vs. Saint Leo	9:00 a.m.	Court 1
VSU vs. UNC Pembroke	11:00 a.m.	Court 2
Eckerd vs. Arkansas- Fort Smith	1:00 p.m.	Court 1
Albany State vs. UNC Pembroke	3:00 p.m.	Court 2
VSU vs. Saint Leo	5:00 p.m.	Court 1
Eckerd vs. Albany State	7:00 p.m.	Court 2

Home Teams
 
VSU kicks off the tournament facing a familiar foe in Eckerd at 1 p.m. on Friday, as the two teams battled in the season-opener at the Flagler Saints Invitational last weekend in Saint Augustine, Fla.  Eckerd won the match 3-0 over the Blazers.  The Blazers then face Arkansas-Fort Smith at 5 p.m.  Saturday's matches feature the Blazers facing UNC Pembroke at 11 a.m. and will conclude the tournament with Saint Leo at 5 p.m.
 
There will be live stats of each match and streaming of the matches and links for those can be found at vstateblazers.com on the volleyball schedule page.  The VSU matches will have a full livestream setup, while the neutral site matches will have a static one-camera shoot.
 
The Blazers (2-3) opened the 2021 home slate Tuesday with a convincing 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-18) victory over Edward Waters at The Complex.  Senior Jessie Mooney had 12 kills and ten digs for her third double-double of the season.  As a team, VSU tallied 44 kills to just 12 errors for a .356 hitting percentage.  The Blazers also had 40 assists, 37 digs, five blocks, and three aces.  VSU held EWU to an .098 hitting percentage as the Tigers had 30 kills and 21 errors in 92 swings.  
 
VSU went 1-3 at the Flagler Saints Invitational last weekend as freshman Kylie Stroehlein was named Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week.  In her VSU debut, she recorded 36 kills in 16 sets and hit .102 for the weekend.  Against Flagler, she posted a double-double with 12 kills and 19 digs, while also registering five aces.   In the following match against No. 6-ranked Lewis, Stroehlein continued her solid pay with ten kills for a .171 average, along with a career-high 18 digs and one service ace.  Stroehlein finished the weekend with 52 digs, five blocks and seven service aces.
 
For the season, VSU has 188 kills for a .132 hitting percentage in 657 swings.  The Blazers have 169 assists with 30 service aces, while recording 256 digs and 36 total blocks with seven solo rejections.  Mooney leads the team with 52 kills, while Stroehlein is second with 47 and graduate student Deona Mims is third with 43.  Senior Tammy Reyes-Perez leads the team with 148 assists on the year.  Redshirt freshman Lyara Rosario has a team-high 68 digs on the year, while sophomore Kennedy Deluca leads the team with 19 total blocks and is one of three Blazers to have two solo blocks this season.
 
For the tournament, Albany State enters with a 1-1 record after a 3-0 loss to Georgia College on Tuesday.  ASU defeated Fort Valley on Sept. 3, 3-0.  Eckerd visits Titletown after going 3-1 in Saint Augustine last week.  The Tritons won in five sets versus the host Saints and dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 6 Lewis.  EC's Ranya Mehta was named Sunshine State Conference Offensive Player of the Week as she totaled 48 kills and hit a blistering .405 clip.  She recorded a career-high 22 kills and a .349 average in the five-setter against Flagler.  Mehta, a freshman, had 11 kills in 12 swings for a .381 hitting percentage with three errors against the Blazers in her collegiate debut. 
 
Arkansas-Fort Smith, out of the Lone Star Conference, went 3-1 at the Lady Buff Volleyball Classic at West Texas A&M University last weekend.  The only loss for the Lions came against the host Lady Buffs, 3-1 in the finale.  UAFS had wins over Fort Lewis (Colo.), Southwestern Oklahoma State and Adams State (Colo.).  The Lions are led by Reagan Macha with 43 kills, while Chloe Price leads the team with 148 assists and Lexy Lewis has 69 digs.  Hannah Holland leads the team with 19 total blocks and six solo blocks.
 
UNC Pembroke is 4-2 on the year after going 2-2 at the USC Aiken Invitational, including a 3-1 loss to GSC foe Auburn Montgomery.  The Braves then defeated Newberry and Winston-Salem State each by the score of 3-0 on Tuesday in the UNCP Tri-Match.  UNCP is hitting .215 for the season with 238 kills in 655 swings with 97 errors.  Shannon Skryd leads the team with 62 kills, while Katie Preasley leads the team with 191 assists and Skryd leads the team in digs with 68.  
 
Saint Leo is 1-3 on the year after a 3-0 victory over McKendree (Ill.) to conclude the Ferris State Tournament in Big Rapids, Mich., last weekend.  The Lions are hitting .152 on the season with 164 kills and are led by Ashley Quero with 40 kills.  SLU has 155 assists for the season led by 116 from Skylar Singleton and Payton Belliano leads the team with 63 digs as the team has 239 digs for the season.
 
All Athletic events at VSU will have a "courtesy socially distance" section for spectators who would like a little more space.  For Blazer Volleyball games in The Complex this season, sections A through E and FF through JJ will be the "courtesy socially distance" sections. These sections are located on the mezzanine level of the complex and can be accessed by stairwells in all four corners of the arena.  The "courtesy socially distance" sections are on a first-come, first-serve basis and are subject to change.  
 
Although not required, VSU Athletics encourages fans and spectators to wear a mask/face covering at sporting events. Check back with vstateblazers.com on the volleyball schedule page for the complete list of games and times for the tournament this weekend.
 
Following the tournament, the Blazers head to Georgia College in Millidgeville, Ga., for three matches next weekend Sept. 17-18, facing GCSU, along with neutral site matches versus Augusta and USC Aiken.  The Blazers return home to open Gulf South Conference play Sept. 21, versus preseason GSC favorite West Florida at The Complex at 6 p.m.