VALDOSTA, Ga.- Fresh off the heels of a momentous comeback victory at Auburn Montgomery Tuesday evening, the Valdosta State volleyball team (7-5, 1-1 GSC) is back in action when it takes on Alabama Huntsville on Friday and Montevallo on Saturday. Friday evening's matchup kicks off at 7 p.m. ET while Saturday afternoon's contest is set for 3 p.m. ET.
 
On Tuesday night, the Blazers competed in their first match in a week due to Hurricane Helene putting last weekend's matches at The Complex on the backburner. In the match, VSU went down early to Auburn Montgomery as the Warhawks took a two-set lead. With things looking grim, the Blazers shook off the rust and locked in, claiming the final three sets in what was a gritty, five-set slug fest, 3-2. Overall, VSU hit for .227 in the match with a season-high 63 kills on 176 hits and 23 miscues while AUM hit for .161 on 54 kills and 24 attack errors on 186 swings.
 
Individually, many of the Blazers had standout performances in the comeback at AUM. Senior Jojo Smith led the match in kills with 17 while also recording her third double-double of the season while senior Mackenzie Murray recorded a season-high 12 kills. Meanwhile, junior Sabrina Oncins recorded her biggest game for VSU so far, racking up 10 kills including the two set-ending kills in sets four and five. She also had 13 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Another newcomer in Redshirt freshman Avery Mullins made a splash for the Blazers at setter, recording a match-high 47 assists in her biggest game of the season so far. Junior Katie Callenberger and Senior Christina Pettigrew continued to defend the net as Callenberger tacked on a match-high three blocks including one solo rejection while Pettigrew tallied two with one solo block. Finally, senior libero Kaia Baker tallied a match-high 30 digs while fellow-libero sophomore Lily Glover racked up 16.
 
For the season, Smith currently leads the Blazers on the offensive front, sitting at 131 kills on the year for 3.12 kills a set. Bennett currently sits at fifth in the conference in assists with 360 on the year while she currently ranks seventh in VSU history with 1611 assists as a Blazer. Meanwhile, Pettigrew leads the Blazers in aces with 17 while also leading the Blazers in blocks with 29 on the season so far with 15 solo rejections on the year. Senior libero Kaia Baker currently ranks third in the conference in digs with 209 total for a league-best 5.10 digs per set.
 
Alabama Huntsville enters this weekend's match at the top of the Gulf South Conference with a perfect 4-0 conference record while sitting at 13-1 overall. The Chargers are currently riding an eight-game win streak, most recently defeating West Alabama in Huntsville on Tuesday, 3-0. UAH is led by head coach Jon Moseley who is 75-39 in his fifth season at the helm of the Chargers' program. In matchup history since 1995, Alabama Huntsville holds a narrow 29-25 advantage over Valdosta State with the Blazers most recently claiming a 3-0 victory in Valdosta in November 2023.
 
This season, the Chargers can accredit a majority of their early season success to outstanding defensive play. UAH currently sits at first in the conference and second in the nation in blocks with 148 on the year while opponents hit just .124 on average against the Chargers, ranking top 10 in the nation for the category. Leading the charge for Alabama Huntsville are Autumn Mayes and Mary Grace Bundrant., Mayes currently leads the team in kills with 132 on the season while also bolstering 18 service aces. Meanwhile, Bundrant leads the UAH defense with 65 total blocks on the year for ninth in the nation while recording 19 solo rejections.
 
Montevallo comes into the weekend with a 5-9 overall record with a 2-2 mark in league play. The Falcons most recently fell to Mississippi College on Tuesday night, 3-1, and will take on West Florida on Friday before Valdosta State comes to town. UM is under the direction of Haven O' Quinn, who is 18-27 in her second season as head coach of the Falcons. Montevallo holds the edge in the matchup history with Valdosta State since 2017, 8-2. The Falcons currently hold a 3-0 stretch against the Blazers, winning all three matchups in 2023 including a gritty 3-2 comeback in the GSC Tournament.
 
Individually, the Falcons are led on offense by Nikol Antova who currently sits at 189 kills on the year for second in the GSC. Meanwhile, setter Colton Thompson runs the UM offense with 254 assists while also notching a team-high 19 aces. Defensively, Claire Hayes leads Montevallo with 14 blocks on the year including four solo rejections.
 
Following this weekend's road trip, the Blazers are set to return home to The Complex for a slate of matches next week, kicking off with a Tuesday night, non-conference matchup against Flagler at 6 p.m. For more information on that matchup as well as all upcoming Blazer volleyball matchups, visit vstateblazers.com and head to the volleyball schedule page