VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State volleyball team (7-7, 1-3 GSC) is back in action at The Complex after various road trips and weather delays to host a pair of key Gulf South Conference matchups. The action kicks off on Friday night at 6 p.m. when the Blazers take on Mississippi College before turning around to host West Alabama on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
All the Blazer volleyball action will be available on vstateblazers.com where links can be found for live stats and streaming. Video streaming is offered through FloSports with a paid subscription. For more information on how to subscribe and watch nearly every Valdosta State athletic event, see here.
 
Valdosta State has a long-awaited homecoming at The Complex following a three-game Alabama road trip that saw the Blazers take on various GSC opponents including Auburn Montgomery, Alabama Huntsville and Montevallo. VSU took the fight to AUM last Tuesday, completing a miraculous five-set comeback to kick off the road trip in exciting fashion. However, the Blazers ran into the conference-leaders, Alabama Huntsville on Friday evening, dropping a hard-fought 3-1 contest to the Chargers. On Saturday, Valdosta State competed in a gritty contest with Montevallo as both teams delivered blows back and forth with the match all knotted up heading into a fifth set. Despite a valiant effort by the Blazers, Montevallo ended up slamming the door on VSU in the fifth set, delivering a heart-breaking, five-set defeat to the visitors.
 
Individually, Valdosta State's offense was led by the pair of seniors Jojo Smith (40 kills) and Mackenzie Murray (38 kills), who accounted for 78 of the Blazers 170 kills for the week. Smith also recorded her fourth double-double of the season against the Warhawks while Murray had her best game of the season thus far at Montevallo, delivering a season-high 15 kills and a block. Meanwhile, junior Sabrina Oncins made her presence known in the Blazer offensive attack, recording 27 kills over the stretch while also tallying her first double-double of the season against AUM. Redshirt-freshman Avery Mullins also had a big week for Valdosta State at setter, racking up 95 assists for 6.79 assists per set. Defensively, junior Katie Callenberger led the Blazers in blocks, racking up nine total blocks for the road trip including one solo rejection. Meanwhile, senior libero Kaia Baker kept points in play, racking up 74 digs over the three-match stretch, good for 5.29 digs a set.
 
For the season, Smith currently leads the Blazers on the offensive front, sitting at 154 kills on the year for 3.02 kills a set. Senior setter Audrey Bennett currently sits at sixth in the conference in assists with 394 on the year while she currently ranks seventh in VSU history with 1645 assists as a Blazer. Meanwhile, senior Christina Pettigrew leads the Blazers in aces with 18 while Callenberger leads the Blazers in blocks with 32 total rejections including 17 solo blocks. Baker currently ranks second in the conference in digs with 252 total for a league-best 5.06 digs per set.
 
Mississippi College comes to Valdosta with a 7-6 overall record and a near-perfect 5-1 after defeating GSC opponents Lee and Trevecca Nazarene 6-1 at home last weekend. The Choctaws are under the direction of first year head coach Bentley Odum who has put together an excellent start to her inaugural season. In program matchup history, Valdosta State holds a 13-1 record over the Choctaws since 2014 with the Blazers most recently claiming a 3-2 victory last season in Valdosta.
 
The Choctaws are led by the dominant presence of Lydia Paulette, who ranks first in the conference in total attacks (559), attacks per set (11.89), kills per set (4.26), and points per set (4.95) while also ranking third in the GSC in total kills with 200 on the year. Offensively, Paulette has been the player to watch while setter Ali Wiggins runs the MC offense with 243 assists on the year. Meanwhile on the defensive side of the court, Rhaia Davey and Julia Sumrall each have 37 total blocks and eight solo rejections while libero Samarin Kipple has racked up a team-high 182 digs.
 
West Alabama enters The Complex with a 2-14 overall record with an 0-6 mark in league play and is set to take on West Florida on Friday night before coming to Valdosta. The Tigers are led by head coach Mike Schmidt who is 13-64 in his third season at West Alabama. In program matchup history, Valdosta State leads UWA 16-8 since 2009 with the Blazers claiming the previous four matches since 2019.
 
UWA is led offensively by Jaida Alvin, who leads the team with 110 kills on the year. Meanwhile, setter Taylor Lamontagne runs the Tiger offense with 255 assists while also tallying a team-high 17 aces. Defensively, West Alabama Gravie Huver defends the net with 27 total blocks including six solo rejections while libero Maggie Roddam leads the squad with 140 digs.
 
Following this weekend's matches, the Valdosta State volleyball team will return to the road to take on Trevecca Nazarene and Lee next weekend. For more information on those matchups as well as everything Blazer volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com and head to the volleyball schedule page.