VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team dropped a hard-fought match against West Florida on Tuesday night in three sets at The Complex. The Blazers now sit at 15-9 on the season with a 9-5 conference record while the Argos improved to 18-5 overall, remaining at a perfect 13-0 in GSC play.
 
 WEST FLORIDA 25, VALDOSTA STATE 21 (SET ONE)
Neither team had much of an advantage in the first set which saw 14 ties with the final coming at 19-19.  UWF used a pair of kills from Emily Breazeale for a 21-19 lead followed by a timeout by the Blazers.  Senior Mackenzie Murray registered a kill for a 21-20 score, but the Argos scored the next two points to lead 23-20.  A miscue by UWF pulled VSU within 23-21, but a kill from UWF's Jenna Zydio made it set point.  Breazeale came up with her seventh kill of the set for the 25-21 set one score.   The Blazers had 13 kills in the opening set with seven attack errors on 53 swings and hit .113, while UWF hit .184 with 15 kills in 49 swings and six attack errors.  VSU had four total blocks in the set, while UWF had three.  Murray had six kills in the opening frame for the Blazers. 
 
WEST FLORIDA 25, VALDOSTA STATE 10 (SET TWO)
The Argos began the second set with a 4-0 run and a quick timeout by the Blazers.  Out of the stoppage, UWF pushed the lead to 9-0 with two kills and three miscues by the Blazers and the second timeout by VSU.  Out of the timeout, the run continued to 10-0 as redshirt freshman Avery Mullins thought she had a kill but it was overruled.  VSU got on the board with a kill from senior Christina Pettigrew for a 12-1 deficit.  A big block from senior Jojo Smith gave VSU its third point of the set for a 13-3 deficit and the Blazers would cut the deficit to eight at 14-6 on kills from Pettigrew and junior Katie Callenberger.  UWF quickly pushed the lead back to double-digits with four-straight points and an 18-6 advantage.  The Argos went on for the 25-10 victory.  VSU hit -.135 for the set with six kills and 11 errors, while UWF hit .323 with 13 kills and three miscues.
 
WEST FLORIDA 25, VALDOSTA STATE 23 (SET THREE)
UWF opened the third set, scoring the first six points and a timeout by the Blazers.  The Argos extended the lead to 11-3.  Out of the second Blazer timeout, VSU scored five-straight points for an 11-8 deficit highlighted by a block from junior Ava Young, an ace from Mullins and a kill from Smith.  With renewed momentum, the Blazers continued chipping away, pulling within 13-12 on a kill from Young and a block from Callenberger.  VSU tied the set at 14-14 on an error by the Argos before taking its first lead since the first set on an ace from senior Kaia Baker, 15-14. UWF would tie the set at 15 and then again at 17, before the Blazers regained the lead with an ace from sophomore Lily Glover.  UWF broke a 19-19 tie with a kill from Zydio, but the Blazers quickly responded, tying the set at 20-20 for the seventh tie in the frame.  UWF scored three of the next four points for a 23-21 score, but VSU stayed within striking distance courtesy of an Argo error, 23-22.  A kill from UWF's Caiden Largent gave the Argos match point, but the Blazers fought off the match point with a kill from Murray and a timeout by the Argos, trailing 24-23.  UWF claimed the next point on a kill from Kumara Flanagin for the winner, 25-23.  VSU hit .133 for the final set with 11 kills, while UWF hit .153 with 15 kills. 
 
For the match, the Blazers hit .052 with 30 kills in 135 swings and 23 attack errors, while UWF hit .206 with 43 kills in 126 attempts and 17 errors.  VSU finished with eight total blocks to five for the Argos, while Smith led the team with nine kills.  UWF had a match-high 13 kills from Flanagin and 12 from Breazeale.