HOOVER, Ala. – The Valdosta State volleyball team rounded out the Gulf South/ Sunshine State Conference Crossover in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, falling to Florida Tech 3-1 and then dropping a hard-fought battle against Rollins, 3-2, to conclude the weekend.  

The Blazers fell to 8-17 on the year while the Panthers, who took the match 25-15, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19, improved to 11-9 on the year after defeating Christian Brothers following VSU to round out the Crossover. Rollins, who won 25-13, 16-25, 24-26, 25-13, 15-13, moved to 7-14 on the season and also defeated CBU in five sets earlier in the day before taking on VSU.  

In the match against Florida Tech, VSU hit .134 and recorded 40 kills, 10 aces, six blocks and 56 digs. Sophomore Mackenzie Murray, the match's Guardian Bank Player of the Match, led the offense with 12 kills and hit .237. She finished the match with eight digs on defense, a block assist and a block solo. Sophomore Jojo Smith and freshman Ava Young had six kills each while Smith picked up a service ace and five digs and Young recorded a dig and a block assist. On defense, sophomore Lyara Rosario recorded 15 digs along with four service aces and five kills and graduate Mallory Roney recorded 14 digs and two assists.  

For the Panthers, the team recorded 59 kills, five aces, five blocks and 80 digs. Katie Erdmann led the offense with 27 kills and Kari Bogen led the defense with a team-high 26 digs.  

Valdosta State hit .012 versus Rollins College in the five-setter as the Blazers recorded 44 kills, 12 aces, nine blocks and 75 digs. Senior Olivia Piazza, the Guardian Bank Player of the Match, finished the game with a season-high three aces and led the team in digs with 18. Rosario, Smith and sophomore Christina Pettigrew led the offense with nine kills each while Young had four blocks at the net and Smith had five aces.  

The Tars hit .089 during the match and had 40 kills, five aces, 16 blocks and 75 digs. Makayla Moran had 16 kills on offense while Adriana Lopez recorded a team-high 20 digs on defense and Emma Begley had nine blocks at the net.  

Game One (Florida Tech 3, Valdosta State 1)  

Set One (FT 25, VSU 15)  

After Valdosta State tied the game at three, kills by Pettigrew and Young allowed VSU to take the lead at 5-4. After trailing and tying the game at six from a Panther attack error, Florida Tech went on a 5-0 run to build an 11-6 lead. Deep into the set, the Panthers were able to go on a 5-2 run, but a pair of attack errors by Florida Tech allowed VSU to stay alive at 21-15. The Panthers ended the set with four unanswered points to take the opening set 25-15.  

Set Two (VSU 25, FT 21)  

The Blazers were able to jump out to a dominating 7-1 lead to begin the set from efforts by Pettigrew, Murray and Rosario and extended their lead to 15-6 after Panther miscues. In the middle of the set, the Panthers began a huge 9-0 run to come within two, 18-16, but a kill by Murray sparked a 4-0 run by the Blazers and allowed VSU to push its lead to 22-16. VSU reached set point from a service ace by Smith, but the Panthers stayed alive, scoring three straight points to come within three, 24-21. A final service error from the Panthers allowed VSU to take the second set 25-21.  

Set Three (FT 25, VSU 17)  

VSU was able to build a 7-6 lead early, but four straight points from Florida Tech gave the Panthers a 10-7 lead. Then, the Panthers went on a 6-0 run before a serving miscue brought VSU within 19-12. A kill by Murray, a service ace from Pettigrew and a Panther attack error allowed the Blazers to come within five, 20-15, but errors by the Blazers and huge kills from the Panthers allowed Florida Tech to take set three 25-17.  

Set Four (FT 25, VSU 19)  

Following two aces from Rosario, Florida Tech went on a dominating seven-point run to build an early 11-6 lead. A kill by Murray and Panther miscues allowed VSU to come within two, 11-9, but Florida Tech was able to push its lead to 14-9 after three-straight points. Deep into the set, the Panthers went on a 6-1 run to build a 23-14 lead, but Valdosta State responded with five points from kills by Smith and Young to stay alive at 23-19. A final kill and a Blazer miscue allowed Florida Tech to take set four, 25-19, and the match 3-1.  

Game Two (Rollins 3, Valdosta State 2) 

Set One (RC 25, VSU 13)  

Rollins began the scoring campaign with a 7-1 run. VSU was then able to rally and come within two, 8-6 from aces by Smith and Tar miscues, but Rollins responded with an 8-2 run to push its lead to 16-8. Following a kill by Rosario, Rollins was again able to go on a 5-2 run, but another ace by Smith and a Tar service error brought the score to 21-13 in favor of the Tars. Rollins scored the last four points to take the opening set, 25-13.  

Set Two (VSU 25, RC 16) 

VSU opened the second set with a 6-2 spurt from kills by Young, Smith and Pettigrew. After two quick points from the Tars, VSU rattled off four-straight points to build a 10-4 lead. Later, efforts from Rosario, Pettigrew and Tar attack errors allowed VSU to build its lead to 18-9. The Blazers reached set point, 24-14 from back-to-back Tar miscues, and a final kill by Young allowed the Blazers to take set two 25-16.  

Set Three (VSU 26, RC 24)  

The Tars came out firing on all cylinders as Rollins recorded seven unanswered points to build a 9-2 lead. The Blazers responded nicely with a 6-2 run from Tar miscues, and then went on a seven-point scoring campaign to take the lead at 16-13 following a kill by the Tars. Rollins scratched back to regain the lead at 18-17, but kills from Rosario and Young gave VSU back the lead at 21-19 and, after a kill from Rollins to tie the game at 24, a kill by Smith and a Rollins attack error allowed VSU to take the third set 26-24.  

Set Four (RC 25, VSU 13) 

After Rollins opened the set with a 4-0 run, the Blazers fought back to come within one, 7-6, from an ace by Smith. Rollins responded to the kill with a 9-3 run to build a 17-9 lead, but a kill by Young brought the Blazers back to the serving line. Following seven unanswered points by Rollins to force set point at 24-11, a kill by Murray and Tar miscues allowed the Blazers to stay alive at 24-13. A final kill by Rollins allowed the team to take set four 25-13 and force a decisive fifth set.  

Set Five (RC 15, VSU 13)  

Rollins opened the fifth set with a 6-1 run, but VSU was able to scratch back at the deficit and come within three at 10-7. Following three quick points from Rollins, VSU went on a six-point run to tie the decisive set at 13 from kills by sophomore Ah'Miah Harris, Smith and Tar miscues, but Rollins was able to get two final kills off to take set five 15-13 and the match 3-2.  

The Blazers return to conference action on Oct. 21, playing host to Alabama Huntsville at 6 p.m. inside The Complex, before hosting Montevallo on Oct. 22 at 1 p.m., and Shorter on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m.