VALDOSTA, Ga. –  The Valdosta State Blazers dropped the second match of the weekend versus the Florida Southern Mocs on Saturday evening at The Complex. Florida Southern hit .270 for the night while Valdosta State hit .077. Valdosta State dropped to 6-4 while Florida Southern improved to 6-2.
 
First Set:
The Mocs started out fast, as they jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead thanks to two attacking errors and a service ace by FSC's Mary Kate Mulvaney. The Blazers responded with two points on a kill and ace from senior Jojo Smith to chip into the lead. VSU was able to get the score to 6-7 before Florida Southern retaliated with a 10-1 run to go ahead 17-7. A pair of aces by senior Christina Pettigrew brought the set within five at 20-15, but FSC would pull away with a 25-19 win. For the set, the Mocs hit .258 while the Blazers hit .048
 
Second Set:
Florida Southern jumped ahead to a 5-2 lead in the second set before Valdosta State was able to rally back and tie it at six thanks for a pair of kills from senior Mackenzie Murray. The Mocs darted ahead to a 13-7 lead on three Blazer errors. From there the set was back and forth until a 3-0 VSU run cut the deficit to three. From there, Florida Southern closed the set out on a 6-0 run capped off by a service ace from Morgan Word. FSC hit a blazing .417 while VSU hit just .031.
 
Third Set:
Valdosta State opened the third set on fire, scoring five straight to take a 5-1 lead on kills from Murray and Pettigrew. Florida Southern would fight back, and they went on a 4-1 run to get back to get back to within one. A kill from junior Katie Callenberger followed by an error from FSC gave VSU a 10-7 lead. Two 4-0 runs from the Mocs with VSU fighting for points in-between had things all square at 17. Two straight kills from Florida Southern's Sandora Sasaki followed by an ace from Kiersten Kraus had the Mocs leading 20-17. The Blazers would strike back with two points of their own finished off by a block from Katie Callenberger. A 3-0 VSU run gave them a 22-21 lead before FSC followed up with a kill from Zoe Lowe, as she hit .478 on the evening to tie it up at 22. A kill from Pettigrew had the Blazers at set point, but two straight VSU attack errors followed by another kill from Sandora Sasaki gave the Mocs a 26-24 third set win.
 
Inside the Numbers:

• Valdosta State committed nine service errors with six service aces
• Florida Southern recorded ten blocks to Valdosta State's four
• FSC had a ser percentage of .342 compared to VSU's .240

 
 
Up Next:
The Blazers have a quick turnaround, as they will head to Pensacola, Fla. on Tuesday, September 24 to clash with the Argonauts of West Florida at 7 p.m. ET to open GSC play. Following that, VSU will welcome Christian Brothers and Union to town for a weekend battle at The Complex For more information on those matches as well as all things VSU volleyball, visit vstateblazers.com and head to the volleyball schedule page.