ORLANDO, Fla.- The Valdosta State volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2023 GSC/SSC Regional Crossover to Eckerd College on Friday evening, 3-0 (16-25, 16-25, 17-25). The Blazers fell to 15-7 overall while the Tritons improved to 16-3 on the year.
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Match Information: Valdosta State vs. Eckerd College
Score: EC 3, VSU 0 (16-25, 16-25, 17-25)
Records: EC (16-3) , VSU (15-7)
Location: Orlando, Fla. (Game Point Events Center)
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First Set:
Eckerd kicked off the first set by going on a 8-4 run to take an early four-point lead over the Blazers.. However, VSU battled right back into the match, rallying for four-straight points to tie the set up at 8-8. The set remained close at 10-10 until the Tritons began to pull away, going on a 6-2 run to take a 16-12 lead in a flash. Following a VSU timeout, Eckerd continued to build onto its lead, going on another 6-2 rally to go up by eight, 22-14. The Tritons closed out the frame on a 3-2 run to take the first set, 25-16.
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Second Set:
The Tritons carried on their momentum from the first set into the second set, kicking off the frame on a 7-4 run. The Blazers continued to strike back, coming within as close as two-points of the Eckerd lead but were unable to tighten the gap any closer. With the score at 10-8, EC took off, outsourcing the Blazers 9-4 to make the set a six-point affair, 19-13. VSU scored two unanswered points to bring the set closer at 19-15, but the Tritons quickly closed out the set on a 6-1 run to take the set two victory, 25-16. For the frame, Eckerd hit .483 on the set with 16 kills and two errors while Valdosta State hit .133 on 10 kills and six miscues.
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Third Set:
The Blazers kicked off the third set on a hot streak going up 6-0 to begin the frame. However, Eckerd began to chip away at the VSU lead, out scoring the Blazers 6-3 to make the set a three-point contest at 9-6 in a flash. The Tritons ended up taking the whole set over on a 6-0 run to take a three-point lead over Valdosta State in a hurry, 12-9. The Blazers and Tritons traded points back and forth until a 6-2 rally in favor of Eckerd put the Tritons up by six, 20-14. The Blazers scored three more total points down the stretch, but the Eckerd out scored them with five to take the set 25-17 and the match, 3-0.
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Inside the Numbers:
- Valdosta State hit .122 for the match with 29 kills and 18 errors on 90 swings while Eckerd hit .347 on 43 kills and 10 miscues in 95 attempts.
- Junior Mackenzie Murray led the Blazers kills with eight while junior Jojo Smith had seven and graduate student Mallory Roney tacked on six.
- Junior Audrey Bennett had 24 assists to lead the match in the category, accounting for 24 of the Blazers 27 assists.
- Junior Kaia Baker led the match in digs with 15 of the Blazers' 38 total.
- The Tritons held a 7-3 advantage in total blocks for the match as Jaida Clark recorded three for Eckerd and junior Christina Pettigrew accounted for three of VSU's.
- Eckerd also held a 10-4 advantage in service aces as Ashley Eck and Seiler Hruska each totaled three.
- Erin Garr led the way for the Tritons in kills, tallying a match-high 11 while Hruska had 10.
Up Next:
The Blazers finish up their run in the GSC/SSC Regional Crossover tomorrow as they take on Rollins at 2:30 p.m. before closing out the tournament against Lynn University at 7 p.m. For more information on all things Blazer volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com.
