MEMPHIS, Tenn.- The Valdosta State volleyball team completed an undefeated 5-0 week after surviving a gripping five-set match at Christian Brothers Sunday afternoon. During the contest, senior Christina Pettigrew recorded her 500th career block with three total rejections in the win. She currently sits at 500 for her career while she has 294 in three seasons as a Blazer. Within nine days, Pettigrew has achieved two career milestones earning 1000 kills in the 3-0 win over Trevecca last Friday and 500 blocks this afternoon. Along with Pettigrew, fellow senior Mackenzie Murray also reached a career milestone, recording a career-high 21 kills while leading VSU's offense to a hard-fought victory.
 
Match Information: Valdosta State at Christian Brothers (Match #2)
Score: VSU 3 , CBU 2 (23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-11, 15-13)
Records: VSU (15-8, 9-4 GSC) , CBU (6-17, 2-11 GSC)
Location: Canale Arena (Memphis, Tenn.)
 
First Set:
The opening set proved to be competitive in the early minutes as the Blazers and Lady Bucs remained locked in a stalemate at 6-6 following a kill from junior Katie Callenberger. Christian Brothers then started to pull away on a 7-1 run that put the Lady Bucs up six in a heartbeat. 13-7. Following VSU's second timeout, Valdosta State and Christian Brothers traded six points back and forth as CBU maintained its six-point lead, 19-13. The Lady Bucs made it to set point at 24-17 on a 5-4 run before the Blazers made an unexpected comeback on six-uncontested points to come within one of the Christian Brothers lead, 24-23. CBU called one last timeout to slow VSU's momentum before delivering the final kill to take set one in a narrow win, 25-23.
 
Second Set:
Christian Brothers looked to build off its first set victory in the second set, going up by four on an early 8-4 run that included six kills from the Lady Bucs. CBU notched its lead up to five at 10-5 before the Blazers decided to call their first timeout. Out of the break, VSU caught fire on a 5-1 run that took advantage of three CBU attack errors to come within one of the Lady Bucs lead, 11-10. Christian Brothers was forced to take a timeout before Valdosta State resumed its impressive run on another 5-1 rally which was kicked off by a tip-over kill from senior Audrey Bennett. With VSU now in front, 15-12, the Blazers continued to build their lead up to seven at 21-14 following a kill from junior Sabrina Oncins. CBU managed to make things interesting on a 9-2 run to tie the set up at 23-23 before a kill from Oncins and a massive block from Pettigrew and Bennett sealed the second set for the Blazers. 25-23.
 
Third Set:
The opening to set three was a back and forth affair with neither team willing to let up as the frame was all knotted up at 5-5 in the early minutes. Christian Brothers then took a 9-5 lead following a 4-0 run from the Lady Bucs. Out of a VSU timeout, the Blazers managed to bring it back within three following a kill from Murray at 12-9 before the Lady Bucs built some distance on a 5-2 run, 17-11. Valdosta State called its second timeout of the frame before striking back on a 4-1 to come within three of the CBU lead once again, 18-15. Despite a valiant effort, the Blazers only managed to come up with four more points before Christian Brothers closed the frame out on a 7-4 run, 25-19.
 
Fourth Set:
Facing a 2-1 match deficit, the Blazers kicked off the fourth set with a 6-1 run out of the gate to force an early timeout by the Lady Bucs. Valdosta State continued to run up its lead, going up by nine in the blink of an eye following a block from redshirt-freshman Avery Mullins and Callenberger, 13-4. Following CBU's second timeout, the Lady Bucs managed to pull the set back within seven points at 16-9 before the Blazers exploded for a massive 9-2 run including four kills from Murray and two from Oncins to force a fifth set, 25-11.
 
Fifth Set:
In the winner-take-all set, the Blazers and Lady Bucs dueled to a stalemate at 5-5 following a service ace from Pettigrew. The two squads battled to 8-8 before being forced to switch sides. With the match coming down to the wire, VSU and CBU traded 10 points, five apiece, back and forth with the frame remaining tied at 13-13. The set featured a total of 11 ties as Oncins proved to be the game-changer, delivering back-to-back kills to seal the match for Valdosta State, 15-13.
 
Inside the Numbers:

 
Up Next:
The Blazers will now return home for a full week of matchups, kicking off with West Florida on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at The Complex. For more information on the upcoming week of matchups, visit vstateblazers.com and head to the volleyball schedule page.