VALDOSTA, Ga.- Down 2-0, the Valdosta State volleyball team battled back to defeat Lee University on Saturday afternoon, 3-2 (26-28, 25-27, 25-21, 25-12, 15-9). With the win, the Blazers improved to 10-4 overall with a 3-0 mark in the Gulf South Conference while Lee fell to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the GSC.
 
Match Information: Valdosta State vs. Lee University
Score: VSU 3, Lee 2 (26-28, 25-27, 25-21, 25-12, 15-9)
Records: VSU (10-4, 3-0 GSC), Lee (8-6, 1-2 GSC)
Location: The Complex (Valdosta, Ga.)
 
Fifth Set:
In what was the winner take all set, the Blazers looked to complete their comeback from being down 2-0 at the start of the match. Coming off a dominant 25-12 set four victory, Valdosta State raced out to an explosive 11-3 lead to begin the final set of the match as graduate student Mallory Roney tallied three aces to start the rally. However, the Flames stayed resilient, going on a swift 6-1 run to cut the VSU lead to three 12-9. VSU regrouped following a timeout to square the set away with three straight points on a pair of kills and an ace to take the set and complete the 3-2 comeback, 15-9. Valdosta State hit an impressive .438 for the final set, delivering eight kills and only one mistake while the Flames hit .182 with six kills and two errors.
 
Inside the Numbers:

 
First Set:
In the first set of the match, the Blazer went up 2-0 before the Flames stormed back on a 9-2 run to go up by five, 9-4. VSU continued to strike back, outsourcing Lee 5-1 to come within one of the Lee lead, 10-9. However, Lee began to pull away once again, tacking on three to lead, 13-9. For much of the match, Valdosta State continued to inch within one or two of the Lee lead, ,but the Flames continued to stay one step ahead of the Blazers down to the wire. It was not until late in the match when a kill from Roney tied things up at 21-21. The Blazers and Flames began to go back and forth down to the wire with five ties occurring in the final points of the game. It wasn't until the game was knotted up at 26-26 that the Flames pulled away on two Blazer miscues to take set one, 28-26.
 
Second Set:
The Beginning of set two began to look alot like the end of the first set with VSU and Lee trading points back and forth until things got tied up at 8-8. The Flames started to pull away from there, scoring four straight to take a 12-8 lead. The Blazer offense retaliated with a 4-1 run to make the set a one-point affair at 13-12. The set looked to be a carbon copy of the previous set with the Blazers closing in on the Flames' lead as Lee would pull away at the last second. The set came down to 22-22 as the Blazers and Flames fought down the stretch. Tied at 25-25, Lee tallied a service ace and a VSU attack error to take the second set 27-25.
 
Third Set:
With the Blazers facing match point, VSU rushed out to a 8-4 lead at the beginning of the set. However, Lee wouldn't go away without a fight, going on a 5-1 run to tie the set up at 9-9. As proven in the previous sets, the third set looked to be a dog fight once again with each team trading blows back and forth until the match was tied up at 13-13. From there, the Blazers looked to be one step ahead of the Flames throughout the rest of the set, holding a one-point lead or higher until the set's conclusion. Valdosta State ended up pulling away late to win the third set and force a set four, 25-21.
 
Fourth Set:
Coming off a massive set three victory, the Blazers looked to build off their momentum in the fourth set, muscling out an impressive 11-5 lead at the start of the set. From there it was pretty much all VSU as the Flames only scored seven more in the set while the Blazers continually went on scoring spurts to score 14 more and force a fifth set with Lee, 25-12. The fourth set victory served as a huge momentum shift for the Blazers as the fans in The Complex remained on their feet for the entire set. VSU hit a blistering .290 for the set with 11 kills and only two errors while Lee hit .024 with seven kills and six miscues.
 
Up Next:
The Blazers conclude their current home stand with a match against Albany State on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. For more information on Valdosta state volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com and go to the volleyball schedule page.