VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team defeated Montevallo Saturday afternoon 25-16, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, in four sets to clinch a senior day victory. The Blazers improved to 10-17 on the year and 4-7 in the Gulf South Conference while the Falcons fell to 16-10 on the year and 8-3 in conference play.  

The Blazers hit .087 for the match and recorded 41 kills, nine aces, 11 blocks and 59 digs. Sophomore Lyara Rosario, the Guardian Bank Player of the Match, finished the game with a team-high 14 digs and three service aces while sophomore Jojo Smith led the offense with 12 kills, a block solo and a block assist and seven digs. Senior Olivia Piazza was honored as the lone senior for the Blazers prior to the match and finished senior day with nine digs as the libero and a service ace. Freshman Ava Young recorded a season-high four digs, five blocks and three kills while graduate Mallory Roney finished the match with eight kills and 10 digs.  

For the Falcons, the team hit .080 and recorded 43 kills, an ace, eight blocks and 63 digs. Macy Martin led the offense with 15 kills while Casey Hendrixson had 17 digs on defense and Morgan Hoffman had a team-high four blocks at the net.  

Set One (UM 25, VSU 16)  

The Falcons opened the match with a dominating 8-1 run, but kills from Smith and Falcon miscues allowed VSU to scratch back to 9-5. UMV responded with an 8-1 run to build a 17-6 lead. After exchanging back-and-forth points throughout the set, a pair of Falcon miscues brought VSU back to the serving line down 23-16, but a final kill and Blazer error allowed the Falcons to take the opening set 25-16.  

Set Two (VSU 25, UM 20)  

A kill by Roney and Falcon miscues allowed VSU to open the second set with a 4-1 lead, but a kill and VSU error allowed the Falcons to come within one, 8-7. Kills by sophomore Audrey Bennett, Roney and an ace by sophomore Christina Pettigrew allowed VSU to build a 13-7 lead. The Falcons responded with six unanswered points of their own to tie the game at 13. Deep into the set, a kill by Roney sparked a dominating 9-1 run to allow VSU to take set two, 25-20.  

Set Three (VSU 25, UM 14) 

After UMV tied the game at three, VSU went on a 5-0 run to build an 8-3 lead. After the Falcons scratched back to come within three, 12-9, kills by sophomore Mackenzie Murray, Smith and a Falcon miscue allowed VSU to push its lead to 15-9. Deep into the set, a huge kill from Pettigrew sparked a 7-2 run to allow the Blazers to take set three, 25-14.  

Set Four (VSU 25, UM 19)  

A plethora of Montevallo errors allowed VSU to open the set with a 10-2 advantage, but the Falcons were able to scratch back to 11-8 from a 6-1 run. After an ace from sophomore Giulia Dias pushed VSU's lead to 15-9, Montevallo and the Blazers exchanged points throughout the rest of the set before a kill by Murray sparked a 4-0 run to give VSU a 23-16 lead. A kill by Murray allowed the Blazers to reach match point, and a final exclamation point from Murray allowed VSU to take set four 25-19 and the match 3-1.  

The Blazers conclude its three-game homestand on Tuesday as they host Shorter at 6 p.m. inside the Complex.