NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Valdosta State volleyball team picked up two wins over Lees-McRae on Saturday to round out the Newberry College Volleyball Invitational. 

The Blazers took both games in straight sets and improved to 4-5 on the year while the Bobcats fell to 0-8 on the year.  

Game One (VSU 3, LMR 0)  

 The Blazers hit .214 for the match while recording 40 kills, 44 digs, nine blocks and seven aces. Sophomore Jojo Smith was named the Guardian Player of the Match after recording a team-high 10 kills and 11 digs on defense.  

Sophomore Lyara Rosario led the team with 19 digs and four aces during the match while sophomore Christina Pettigrew had a team-high five blocks. The Blazers held the Bobcats to only 26 kills, while Lees-McRae hit .86 for the match and Hailey Gilreath lead the offense with six kills.  

Set One (VSU 25, LMR 21) 

After the Bobcats jumped out to a quick 8-6 lead, the Blazers battled back to take the lead at 16-13 from kills by graduate Mallory Roney, Smith and Pettigrew along with service aces by Rosario. The Blazers then went on a 6-3 run to push their lead to 22-16 late in the set. Lees-McRae fought back with three unanswered points to cut VSU's lead within two, 23-21, but a service error from the Bobcats and a bad set from the offense allowed the Blazers to take set one 25-21.  

Set Two (VSU 25, LMR 23)  

LMR jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead to begin the set as the Blazers struggled to knock a point down. Kills from Roney, Pettigrew and Bobcat miscues allowed the Blazers to cut LMR's lead to 11-10, but the Bobcats continued to put pressure on the Blazers and kept a 16-14 lead in the middle of the set. A kill by Pettigrew later in the set allowed VSU to tie the game at 19, and another kill by freshman Ava Young allowed the Blazers to take the lead, 21-20. After a three-point run from the Bobcats to take the lead at 23-21, VSU scored four-straight points from three kills by Roney and sophomore Mackenzie Murray to allow the Blazers to take set two 25-23.  

Set Three (VSU 25, LMR 20)  

Lees-McRae again jumped out to an early lead 6-4 in the third set, but four unanswered points from the Blazers' offense allowed VSU to take the lead at 9-7. In the middle of the set, the Blazers scored five-straight points from a kill by Smith and Bobcat miscues to give VSU a solid lead, 18-13. The Blazers reached match point from a kill by Roney, but LMR held on to cut VSU's lead to 24-20. A final blow from Pettigrew allowed the Blazers to take set three 25-20, and the match 3-0.  

Game Two (VSU 3, LMR 0) 

The Blazers continued their strong showing in game two, hitting .215 for the match and recording 41 digs, 36 kills, 10 blocks and nine aces. Sophomore Giulia Dias was selected as the Guardian Bank Player of the Match after she recorded 26 assists as the setter along with four kills and four digs for a .667 attack percentage.  

Smith led the Blazers again with 10 digs while Young had five aces and Rosario had 16 digs. VSU held the Bobcats to 20 kills, while LMR recorded 32 digs and two blocks. Sydney Stigler led the Bobcats' offense with five kills while Bre Adamson had 14 digs on defense.  

Set One  (VSU 25, LMR 12)

The Blazer offense got hot quickly in the first set as VSU jumped out to a 10-1 lead to being the set. A service ace by Roney allowed the Blazers to continue the dominating set at 14-4. Later in the set, the Blazers went on a 4-1 run to lead 18-8 from kills by Smith and Bobcat miscues. LMR scratched back to cut VSU's lead to 21-11, but three straight points and a kill by Murray allowed the Blazers to take set one 25-12.  

Set Two (VSU 26, LMR 24)

VSU quickly got off to a 5-0 lead to begin the second set, but the Bobcats went on an 8-3 run to take the lead, 11-10. The Blazers got a two-point lead, 19-17, from kills by Murray and Smith, but the Bobcats bounced back and tied the game at 19. After a 4-1 run from LMR to force set point at 24-21, the Blazers went on a five-point rally from a LMR attack error and a kill by Murray to take set two with an extra point, 26-24.  

Set Three (VSU 25, LMR 14)

The Blazers went on a five-point run at the start of the set to build a 7-5 lead over LMR. After a solo shot from the Bobcats, the Blazer offense recorded seven-straight points to build a solid lead, 14-6. A late kill by Roney sparked another five-point dominating run to push the Blazers to 22-13 and kills by Pettigrew and Murray allowed VSU to get the final points on the board and take set three 25-14 and the match 3-0.  

Up Next: 

The Blazers are back in action on Tuesday, facing off against Clark Atlanta, for the 2022 home opener that was originally scheduled for Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. inside the Complex. 

Following Clark Atlanta, the Blazers will travel to Carrollton, Ga. to take on Georgia College, USC Aiken and Augusta University on Sept. 9-10.  

For all updates on Blazer volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com or follow Valdosta State Athletics on social media.