VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State volleyball team (19-11, 13-7 GSC) kicks off the second round of the Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. on Friday afternoon, squaring off with a familiar foe in the Lee Flames at 5 p.m. ET.  The Blazers are hunting for their first GSC title since 2014 and are 18-8 in conference tournament history.
 
All of the Blazer volleyball action will be available on vstateblazers.com where links can be found for live stats and streaming. Video streaming of the entire tournament is offered through FloSports with a paid subscription. For more information on how to subscribe and watch nearly every Valdosta State athletic event, see here.
 
VSU is coming off of its final homestand of the regular season in which the Blazers went an even 1-1 over the weekend. Valdosta State opened up the home stretch against Trevecca Nazarene on Friday night as the Blazers survived a comeback by the Trojans in five sets, 3-2. On Saturday, VSU took the fight to Lee on senior day, taking the first set before dropping three-straight sets to fall in four, 3-1.
 
During last weekend's stretch, VSU was led by the senior Christina Pettigrew, who earned GSC Player of the Week, announced by the league office on Tuesday. Pettigrew had quite the weekend, racking up a team-high 31 kills while hitting for .375 on the weekend. Defensively, she recorded eight total blocks over the weekend including seven solo rejections. She also finished the weekend with five aces and 12 digs. In the five-set victory over Trevecca, Pettigrew led the Blazers with 17 kills while hitting for a team-best .378. She also tallied five total blocks including a staggering four solo rejections.
 
Meanwhile, Senior Jojo Smith recorded double-doubles in both matchups (13 kills & 12 digs vs. TNU / 12 kills & 13 digs vs. Lee), bringing her season total to 11 on the year. The duo of setters in senior Audrey Bennett (23 assists) and redshirt-freshman Avery Mullins (55 assists) combined for 78 assists over the stretch. Meanwhile, standout senior libero Kaia Baker recorded 39 digs for 4.33 digs a set.
 
It was also announced on Tuesday afternoon that Baker was named GSC Libero of the Year while both her and Pettigrew were named to the GSC All-Conference First Team. It marks the first season that a Valdosta State player has achieved a libero of the year award since the honor was created in 2018. It also marks back-to-back seasons that head coach Kaleigh Zoucha has had multiple players earn All-Conference team honors.
 
For the season, the aforementioned trio of seniors Jojo Smith, Christina Pettigrew and Mackenzie Murray lead the Blazer offensive attack with Smith in front of the pack at 318 kills on the year. Smith also has eleven double-doubles this season alone. Pettigrew trails just behind Smith with 304 kills while hitting a team-best .297. Meanwhile, Murray comes in with 277 kills on the year. Pettigrew leads the charge for the Blazer defense at the net with a squad-high 80 blocks this season, including 37 solo blocks. The pair of setters in Bennett (664 assists) and Mullins (427 assists) have combined for 1091 assists, keeping the VSU offense rolling. Baker has been an impressive defensive force for the Blazers, sitting at first in the GSC in digs with 552 for 14th in the nation while also ranking first in digs per set at 5.02 a frame. The Blazers are also second in the conference in digs with 1828 on the year for a conference best 16.47 digs per set.
 
The Lady Flames come into the tournament after emerging victorious over Montevallo in five sets in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday night. Lee is heading into the tournament with an 18-15 overall record and 11-9 GSC record, earning the fifth seed in the tournament.  Lee is 1-4 overall in the conference tournament with four total appearances. As a team, Lee currently sits at the top of a few major categories in the Gulf South Conference including first in kills (1537), first in service aces (245) and second in hitting percentage (.218) just to name a few. The Blazers fell in both meetings against the Flames including a 3-2 loss in Cleveland and a 3-1 loss in The Complex just last weekend.
 
Should the Blazers make it past Lee on Friday, they will then take on the conference-leading West Florida on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. West Florida prides themselves on a perfect 20-0 record in the GSC this season, earning the one-seed and hosting privileges fairly easily. This season, West Florida led the way in All-GSC voting with four honorees as well as Head Coach of the Year for veteran leader Melissa Wolter and Player of the Year  Gabi Moulton. Historically, West Florida has taken home 12 titles including three-straight from 2021-23. The Argos are 32-8 in the conference tournament with a staggering 20 total appearances. VSU dropped both contests to the Argos in 2024 in six-straight sets. (3-0, 3-0)
 
The other side of the bracket includes Alabama Huntsville, who earned the second seed in the tournament after finishing 16-4 in conference play (25-5 overall). In a league-leading 23 appearances, the Chargers have gone 23-27 in the tournament including three finals appearances. Meanwhile, Mississippi College clinched the three-seed after taking care of business against Union and Christian Brothers last weekend, going 13-7 in league play and 15-13 overall. The Choctaws have made 14 appearances in the GSC tournament and have gone 7-24 in the tournament historically. Finally, Trevecca is making its first ever appearance in the GSC Volleyball tournament after finishing the season strong, knocking off Union in four-sets in Nashville on Tuesday. The Trojans earned the sixth seed, going 10-10 in conference play (14-18 overall). Mississippi College will take on Trevecca following the VSU/Lee match with the winner of that contest taking on UAH on Saturday afternoon.
 
For updates regarding the tournament and all things Blazer volleyball, make sure to visit vstateblazers.com.