PENSACOLA, Fla.- The Valdosta State volleyball team fell in its first Gulf South Conference contest of the 2024 season at West Florida, 3-0. Following the loss, VSU drops to 6-5 on the year with a 0-1 mark in conference play.
 
Match Information: Valdosta State at West Florida
Score: UWF 3 , VSU 0 (19-25, 27-29, 15-25)
Records: UWF (6-5, 1-0 GSC) , VSU (6-5, 0-1 GSC)
Location: Pensacola, Fla. (UWF Field House)
 
First Set:
In the opening set, the Blazers and Argonauts fought back and forth until UWF went ahead by three following a VSU attack error, 9-6. However, the Blazers struck back on 7-2 run, kick-started by a kill from junior Ava Young that put Valdosta State in front, 13-11. Following a West Florida timeout, the Argos started firing on all cylinders as they went on a 7-2 run of their own to snatch back the lead, 18-15. From there, West Florida took over the set going on a 7-4 run which included three kills from Emily Breazeale as the Argonauts took set one, 25-19. For the first set, the Blazers hit .143 on 14 kills and eight errors in 42 swings while the Argonauts hit for .481 on 15 kills and two miscues in 27 attempts.
 
Second Set:
The Argonauts rushed out to a 6-1 run to start the second set. However, the Blazers stormed right on back with a 5-1 run, capitalized by two kills from senior Mackenzie Murray, 7-6 UWF. The Argos then ran up their lead once again, racking up four straight points to take a five-point lead, 11-6. VSU then took advantage of a service error to make it 11-7 before West Florida tallied four more points to go up by eight, 15-7. Coming down the stretch, the Blazers were off to the races, scoring five straight points capped off by a kill from senior Jojo Smith to force a West Florida timeout, 15-12 Argos. Coming out of the break, Valdosta State continued to put the pressure on, holding a 9-5 advantage in points to take its first lead of the set on an ace from senior Audrey Bennett, 21-20 VSU. The Blazers and Argos went back and forth trying to close out the set until an Argo service ace at set point 28-27 sealed the set for West Florida, 29-27. The Blazers hit for an improved .244 in the set on 15 kills and just four miscues in 45 attempts while the Argos hit for .196 on 15 kills and six errors in 46 swings. A big factor in the second set came down to service errors as VSU suffered six in the frame compared to West Florida's three.
 
Third Set:
The opening to the third set of the match saw VSU and UWF trading points back and forth until the set was all knotted up at 5-5 following a West Florida service ace. The Argonauts then started to pull away on a 6-1 run to go up by five, 11-6. Down the stretch, the Blazers continued to try and get back into the set, but the Argonaut offense would not let up. UWF ended up taking its biggest lead of the match by the end of the set at 10 points as the Argos took the third set 5-15 to score the three set match victory. For the third set, the Blazers hit for their best set of the match at .320 on 11 kills and three attack errors in 25 swings however West Florida hit an impressive .586 on 18 kills and one miscue in 29 swings.
 
Inside the Numbers:

 
Up Next:
Due to the threat of Tropical Storm Helene, the Blazer volleyball weekend slate has slightly shifted around. The Blazers will now open the GSC home slate against Union on Saturday at 1 p.m. before hosting Christian Brothers in a Sunday afternoon matchup in The Complex at 1 p.m. For any updates or information on those matches, make sure to stay tuned to vstateblazers.com.