VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over visiting Auburn Montgomery Tuesday evening at The Complex.  With the win, VSU swept the season series with the Warhawks, improving to 11-8 overall and 5-4 in Gulf South Conference play.  AUM fell to 5-15 overall and 2-9 in league play.
The Blazers hit .233 for the match with 35 kills and 11 attack errors in 103 swings, while holding AUM to just a .017 average as the Warhawks had 27 kills with 25 attack errors in 116 swings.  The Blazers had six solo blocks and two assisted blocks for the match.  Senior Mackenzie Murray paced the team with ten kills, while senior Christina Pettigrew had eight kills and senior Jojo Smith finished with six. 

VALDOSTA STATE 25, AUBURN MONTGOMERY 19 (SET ONE)
The Blazers opened with a 4-0 run to start the match, later extending the spurt to 6-1 with two kills and three AUM errors before the Warhawks called their first timeout. The Blazers built off their strong start, scoring six of the next eight points for a 12-3 lead.  AUM ended the run on an error by the Blazers, but the Blazer onslaught continued as they stretched the lead to 17-6 highlighted by a block from seniors Christina Pettigrew and Mackenzie Murray, followed by an ace and a block from senior Audrey Bennett for a 19-6 lead.  AUM found its footing offensively as it went on a big run, pulling within 23-17, forcing a timeout by VSU as the Warhawks were in the midst of an 11-4 run.  Out of the stoppage, AUM scored two quick points, but a kill from junior Katie Callenberger gave VSU a 24-19 lead as the second timeout was called by the Warhawks.  VSU won the first set 25-19. 
 
For the first set, VSU hit .154 with ten kills in 39 swings, while AUM hit .000 on ten kills in 41 swings with ten attack errors.  The Blazers had just four attack errors in the set. Pettigrew began the match with four kills in the opening frame.

VALDOSTA STATE 25, AUBURN MONTGOMERY 13 (SET TWO)
AUM jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Blazers responded nicely with five of the next six points and a 5-3 lead early in the set.  The Warhawks tied the set at five with a block from Maya Thompson.  This set was a back-and-forth affair early as neither team was able to gain much control.  VSU used a kill from redshirt-freshman Avery Mullins, back-to-back errors on the Warhawks and an ace to go up 12-8 following the 4-0 run.  Murray would put down a kill for a 13-8 lead as AUM ended the 5-0 spurt with a kill from Courtney Joseph.  The Blazers then used a 5-1 run for an 18-10 lead before a timeout by the Warhawks.  Out of the timeout, the Blazers stretched the lead further with a Murray's fourth kill of the match for a 19-10 lead.  Pettigrew had the emphatic rejection for a 21-11 lead, before following it up with an ace to stretch the lead to 23-12.  VSU went on for the 2-0 match lead with a 25-13 set two victory. 
 
For the second set, VSU held AUM to negative numbers at -.033 as the Warhawks committed eight attack errors and had seven kills in 30 swings.  VSU hit .250 for the set with 11 kills in 28 attempts with four attack errors.  Pettigrew had six kills, two solo blocks and one assisted block in the first two sets, while Murray had five kills and one block assist to that point.

VALDOSTA STATE 25, AUBURN MONTGOMERY 18 (SET THREE)
Just like the second set, neither team gained much of an advantage early in the third with the frame tied 4-4 following a kill from Callenberger.  VSU scored four-straight points to break a 6-6 tie for a 10-6 lead highlighted by a block from Murray and three attack errors by the Warhawks.  AUM responded accordingly with four-straight points, but another miscue gave the lead back to VSU at 11-10.  VSU held a 15-14 lead and, out of a timeout, added to its lead with a kill by Smith, followed by a kill from Callenberger for a 17-14 advantage.  Smith would add her sixth kill of the match forcing AUM into a timeout as VSU led, 18-15.  An ace from senior Kaia Baker pushed the VSU lead to 20-16 and the second called timeout by the Warhawks.  VSU stretched the lead to 24-17 with five-straight points and closed the match with a kill from Murray for her team-leading tenth kill of the match. 

In the third, VSU hit a match-best .306 with 14 kills in 36 swings and just three attack errors, while AUM hit .067 with ten kills and seven attack errors in 45 swings. 
 
UP NEXT:
VSU returns to the road as it will play two matches at Union on Friday at 10 a.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET, before traveling to Christian Brothers for a Saturday match at 3 p.m. ET and a Sunday match at 1 p.m. ET.  These four matches include the makeup matches from Hurricane Helene.  The Blazers then return home to host West Florida on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. at The Complex.