VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State volleyball, soccer and football all are in action this week and at home as the volleyball team kicks off the week with its 2022 home-opener Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m., at The Complex versus Clark Atlanta.  Football hosts Virginia Union Saturday at 5 p.m., while women's soccer plays at Embry-Riddle on Thursday and hosts Gulf South Conference rival West Georgia Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
VOLLEYBALL
vs. Clark Atlanta (Tuesday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m. (The Complex) – Watch – Live Stats
at Peach Belt Conference/Gulf South Conference Crossover (Carrollton, Ga.) Check back with vstateblazers.com for links for this tournament later in the week.

 
The Valdosta State Volleyball team looks to continue its two-match winning streak in the 2022 home opener, against Clark Atlanta on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. inside The Complex.  The match was originally scheduled for Aug. 31, but moved to Sept. 6.
 
Following the home opener, the Blazers will travel to the campus of West Georgia for the Peach Belt Conference/ Gulf South Conference crossover in Carrolton. The Blazers will face Georgia College and USC Aiken on Friday at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectfully, and will round out the crossover on Saturday with Augusta University at noon.
 
The Blazers enter the weekend with a 4-5 record after picking up wins against Southern Wesleyan and two victories against Lees-McRae last weekend. The Blazers are led by sophomore Jojo Smith, who has a team-high 78 kills through 28 sets played. Graduate Mallory Roney has 70 kills on the season along with three service aces.
 
On defense, sophomore Lyara Rosario has a team-high 125 digs through 28 sets and a .968 reception percentage. Rosario currently leads the GSC in aces per set with 0.89, good for ninth nationally, while she leads the GSC in aces with 25 on the season, good for second nationally, and stands third in the GSC for total digs.
 
Sophomore Giulia Dias has a team-high 182 assists as a setter, good for fourth in the GSC, while she sits seventh in the GSC in assists per set with 6.50 per set. Sophomore Christina Pettigrew leads the GSC with 37 total blocks, good for 17^thnationally, and also leads the GSC in blocks per set with 1.37 per set.
 
As a team, the Blazers are hitting .159 on the year and have recorded 334 kills,64 aces, 466 digs and 65 blocks through 28 sets. VSU leads the GSC in digs, service aces and blocks per set and is second in the league in digs per set and total blocks.
 
The Panthers, of Clark Atlanta, come to TitleTown with an 0-5 record and are coming off a 3-0 loss to Florida Memorial University on Sunday. Previously this year, the Panthers fell to Dillard University, Shorter, Young Harris and Erskine College.
 
Georgia College enters the week with a 3-3 record and will face off against Emmanuel College and West Georgia before the match against VSU. The Bobcats have recorded 252 kills through six matches and have a .179 hitting percentage. Callie Miller leads the team with 55 kills while Ally Hall has a team-high 85 digs on defense.
 
Last year, the Bobcats finished the season with a 10-22 record and a 4-6 mark in the PBC. This year, GC was picked fifth in the PBC Preseason Coaches Poll. The series is tied 2-2 between the two teams as the last time the Blazers faced off against the Bobcats was in 2021 when VSU downed the Bobcats 3-1.
 
USC Aiken enters the PBC/GSC Crossover with a 7-1 record and will face off against Montevallo at noon before taking on VSU at 6 p.m. The Pacers lone loss comes from the Pacer Invitational against Carson-Newman on Sept. 2 where USC Aiken lost in straight sets to the Eagles.
 
This season, the Pacers were picked third in the PBC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll. The team is led by Sadie McKay with 77 kills while Kari Mercer has 212 digs on defense. The team is hitting .186 and has recorded 385 kills, 64 aces, 602 digs and 39 blocks through 29 sets. The Blazers have a 5-4 advantage over the Pacers and are 3-2 as VSU took down USC Aiken 3-1 in 2021 in Milledgeville, Ga.
 
Augusta University enters the crossover with a 5-2 record and will face off against West Georgia on Friday before the Match with the Blazers. The Jaguars are coming off the Pacer Invitational, going 4-0 in the tournament. This season, the Jags were picked second in the PBC Preseason Coaches Poll and will enter the crossover with 303 kills, 464 digs, 50 blocks and are hitting .159.


The team is led by Jazmyn Wheeler with 58 kills on the year while Kiera Barr has 140 digs on defense. The Blazers hold a 3-1 record over the Jags as the last time the teams met was in the 2021 season when Augusta downed VSU in straight sets.
 
Following the PBC/GSC Crossover, the Blazers will open up GSC action against West Florida on Sept. 13 in Pensacola, Fla. at 7 p.m. ET.
 
 
 
Women's Soccer

 
The Valdosta State women's soccer team enters the week with a 1-0-1 record after a 2-0 win over Georgia College at home last Thursday and a 2-2 draw at Emmanuel College on Sunday.  Senior Amber Saunders scored two goals against Emmanuel in Sunday's contest, while senior Hannah Schroeder scored the first goal of the season against Georgia College off an assist from sophomore Taylor Morris and sophomore Ansley Decenzo added the second score.  Sophomore Emma Pruett provided a clean sheet between the posts for the Blazers in the opener. 
 
On Sunday, Saunders scored the first goal in the 36^th minute off an assist from sophomore Kaley Mincy and then followed that with her second goal of junior Courtney Magnan in the 43^rd minute for a 2-1 lead at halftime.  VSU led 2-1 into the closing moments, before Emmanuel scored the equalizer late in the contest for the 2-2 draw.
 
Embry-Riddle is off to a 4-0 star this season with a 3-1 victory over Ashland (Ohio), who was receiving votes to begin the season, along with a 2-1 win over Findlay (Ohio) and then won 1-0 over then-No. 15 Columbus State last Friday and followed with a 1-0 victory over West Georgia on Sunday.  ERAU keeper Oona Jokinen had five saves against Columbus State for a clean sheet and then followed with one save against UWG and her second-straight shutout. 
 
Offensively, ERAU has scored seven goals this season and is led by Marie Myhrvold Seim with three goals and one assist for seven points.  She has nine shots and six on target.  Grace Foyer is second with two goals for four points and a team-high ten shots and five on frame.  Jokinen has a 0.50 goals against average and ten saves with two shutouts. 
 
The Eagles were picked to win the Sunshine State Conference title for the second-straight year, after winning both the regular season and tournament titles in 2021.  ERAU returns five All-SSC performers from last season in Myhrvold Seim, Isabelle Naren, Sofia Munthe Nilsson, Foyer and Saba Amiri.  Also returning is SSC Freshman of the Year Hattie Kettle. 
 
ERAU leads the all-time series with VSU, 1-0, with a 2-0 victory in Valdosta in 2015.  The teams were supposed to play in Valdosta in 2021, but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather. 
 
West Georgia enters the week with a 1-2 record and will host Georgia College before heading to Titletown on Sunday.  UWG defeated Clayton State 2-0 and then lost a pair of 1-0 decisions to Rollins and Embry-Riddle last weekend. 
 
The Wolves have scored two goals this season, one by Lauren O'Neill and one from Hillary Resendiz, as the latter lead s the team with four shots and two on frame.  Between the posts, Haley Brinkman has a 0.67 goals against average with 14 saves and one shutout in 270 minutes of action. 
 
UWG was picked sixth in the GSC Preseason Coaches poll after going 9-8-2 last season and 7-6 in league play.  VSU posted a 3-1 victory in Carrollton, Ga., last season in the meeting between the two teams.  VSU led 1-0 at halftime on a goal from Barbara Kiger, while Saunders made the score 2-0 midway through the second half.  Resendiz pulled UWG within 2-1 in the 65^th minute, but the Blazers added the insurance goal in the 80^th minute on a penalty kick for the 3-1 margin.
 
VSU leads the all-time series 7-4-2 and 3-2-1 in Valdosta.  The Blazers have won the last four meetings in the series after UWG had won three-straight. 
 
FOOTBALL
vs. Virginia Union – Saturday, Sept. 10, 5 p.m., Bazemore-Hyder Stadium

 
The No. 2-ranked Valdosta State football team (1-0) continues at home this week as it hosts Virginia Union (1-0) Saturday at 5 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  The Blazers are coming off a 36-21 victory over Keiser University last Thursday, while Virginia Union blanked Virginia-Lynchburg 77-0 also last Thursday. 
 
The Blazers had three GSC Players of the Week in senior linebacker Jameon Gaskin (Defensive), redshirt freshman linebacker Akil Lampley (Freshman) and sophomore kicker Estin Thiele tied the GSC and school-record for field goals made in a game with five (5 for 5) and also added three extra-points to earn GSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for complete game notes for football later in the week.