VALDOSTA, Ga.- Valdosta State football graduate student Larry Elder and Blazer volleyball senior Christina Pettigrew were named this week's Steel's Jewelry Athletes of the Week. This marks the second time Elder has earned the weekly award while it is the first time this season Pettigrew has earned the weekly honor.
 
Starting at defensive back, Elder paced the Blazers with 11 total tackles and a tackle for loss in the 35-10 win over Mississippi College on Saturday for Homecoming.  Elder had five solo tackles in the game as he and the Blazer defense held MC to 261 yards of offense and just 38 passing yards.  VSU turned the Choctaws over two times, scoring 14 points on the miscues.  The 11 total tackles marked a season-high for Elder this season as he now has 44 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss for 22 yards on the year. Following his stellar performance, Elder earned his third Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Week award of the season, announced by the league office Monday.
 
Pettigrew had an excellent pair of outings last weekend on the road at Trevecca Nazarene and Lee, helping the Valdosta State volleyball team earn a 1-1 record in the Volunteer state. The Copperas Cove, Tex. native led the Blazers offensively, racking up a team-high 29 kills while hitting for .282 with just nine miscues on 71 attempts. She also recorded two service aces to bring her season total to 25 on the year. Defensively, Pettigrew tallied six total blocks including one solo rejection while chipping in seven digs. Career-wise, she earned the coveted honor of reaching 1000 career kills in the 3-0 win over Trevecca on Friday evening before putting together her best outing of the season so far on Saturday against Lee, marking a season-high 19 kills and five total blocks.
 
Elder and the Blazer football team are currently on a bye week as they prepare to host Chowan at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium next Saturday at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, Pettigrew and the Valdosta State volleyball team are set to head back to Tennessee to take on Union and Christina Brothers for four matches on Friday at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. For more information on Blazer football and volleyball as well as all things VSU athletics, visit vstateblazers.com.