VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State volleyball team is set to host in-state rival, West Georgia, in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament. The match is set to take place on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in The Complex as the winner of the bout will advance to the second round of the tournament in Pensacola, Fla.
 
Tickets will be $10 for adults and $3 for youth & seniors (65+) while students will get in for free with a valid student ID. Tickets will be available at the gate or by calling 229-333-SEAT (7328). The game will also be live streamed through FloSports and live stats will be available at vstateblazers.com.
 
Valdosta State (18-13, 10-6 GSC) is coming off of a 1-1 weekend at The Complex, sweeping Alabama Huntsville on Friday in three sets before falling to Montevallo on Saturday, 3-1. For the weekend, junior Mackenzie Murray led the Blazers in kills with 23 while junior Jojo Smith tallied 21 and graduate student Mallory Roney had 19. Junior Audrey Bennett had 74 assists for the weekend, accounting for 74 of the Blazers' 82 for the two-game stretch. Four Blazers led the team in blocks as Smith, Roney, junior Christina Pettigrew and sophomore Katie Callenberger each recorded five rejections apiece over the weekend. Junior Kaia Baker led the team in digs with 37 starting at libero while Roney had four service aces for the weekend.
 
As a team, VSU finished the regular season ranked sixth nationally and first in the GSC in total attacks (4,271) while also being ranked first in the conference in attacks per set (37.46). Continuing with the offensive trend, the Blazers ranked second in the league in kills (1,382), while also ranking third in kills per set with the team averaging 12.12 kills a frame. Defensively, Valdosta State leads the conference in total blocks (239), digs (1,843) as well as digs per set (16.17).
 
Individually, Audrey Bennett ended the regular season ranked second in the GSC in both total assists (865) and assists per set (7.65). Bennett also ranks No. 10 in the VSU top 10 all-time in assists, coming in at number 10 with 1187 career assists. Mallory Roney is second in the GSC in service aces with 55 on the year, marking 22^nd best in the nation. Christina Pettigrew sits at number three in the league in total blocks with 106 on the year while ranking fourth in blocks per set, averaging 0.93 rejections a frame. She recently moved up to number 13 in Valdosta State all-time blocks (212) and number 10 in solo rejections (54). Pettigrew is also second in the GSC in hitting percentage, hitting an impressive .316 for the season. Finally, junior Mackenzie Murray ranks third in the league in total kills (314) while also ranking fifth in total attacks (899). Meanwhile, Jojo Smith ranks sixth in the GSC in kills (280) while ranking number 13 in VSU all-time kills with 896 career kills as a Blazer.
 
West Georgia (14-14, 8-8 GSC) comes into the GSC Championship tournament as the eight-seed after dropping two hard fought, five-set contests with Montevallo and Alabama Huntsville last weekend. VSU and UWG are currently 1-1 against each other this season as each team collected its win in enemy territory. The Blazers won in Carrollton, Ga. on Sept. 16 in four sets while the Wolves swept the Blazers at home on Halloween, 3-0. Tuesday's match not only marks the tiebreaker between VSU and UWG this season, but could possibly be the final match between the two as West Georgia is set to move up to Division I next season.
 
The UWG offensive is spearheaded by Zoe LaBreche, who ranks second in the conference in kills with 364 while Sarah Pipping (230 kills) and Sanai Young (219 kills) round out the Wolves' offensive attack. This can be accredited to setter Desha Van Veldhuizen who makes this offense go with 750 assists on the year. Defensively, the Wolves are led by Sanai Young, who ranks second in the GSC in blocks with 114, and Kelli Kaiser who has an impressive 479 digs this season.
 
For more information on Valdosta State volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com.