VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team rallied in the third set, but were unable to mount the comeback in the season-opener Friday morning in a 3-1 loss to Converse in the first match of the Fall Tournament at Valdosta State.   
 
Match Information: Converse at Valdosta State
Score: Converse 3, Valdosta State 1 (25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21)
Records: VSU (0-1), Converse (1-0)
Location: The Complex (Valdosta, Ga.)
 
First Set: 
The match began at 9 a.m. on Friday morning as Converse scored the first four points of the match and held an 8-3 lead.  VSU would pull within 10-7 on a kill from junior Katie Callenberger, but the Valkyries would stretch the lead back to six at 15-9.  Later in the set, Converse held a 20-15 lead, but the Blazers began to catch fire as they rattled off a mini run pulling within 21-20 with an emphatic block from seniors Jojo Smith and Christina Pettigrew.  Pettigrew then tallied a big kill pulling VSU within 24-23, but a service error ended the first set in favor of Converse, 25-23.  VSU hit .116 for the first set of the season with 12 kills in 43 attempts and seven errors, while Converse hit .182 with 14 kills and six errors in 44 swings.
 
Second Set:
The second set was a back-and-forth affair early on, but kills from senior Mackenzie Murray and Smith along with an ace from Pettigrew pushed the VSU lead to 13-10.  Converse quickly erased the deficit scoring five of the next six points for a 15-14 lead.  The Blazers tied the set at 15 on a kill from junior Ava Young as the set would see 15 ties throughout.  Neither team gained much of an advantage with a long service rally down the stretch of the set.  VSU was gifted with back-to-back errors by Converse for a 21-19 lead and a kill from Murray gave VSU a 22-20 advantage, but another service error, attack error and kill gave the Valkyries a 23-22 lead.  Callenberger tied the set at 23 with a kill, but 13^th kill by Converse and the sixth error on VSU of the set gave the Valkyries a 2-0 lead with another 25-23 victory.  VSU hit better in the second set at a .214 clip as the offense started to get going with 15 kills and six miscues.  Converse had 13 kills and four errors and also hit .214 for the frame.
 
Third Set:
Trailing 2-0, the Blazers raced out to a 9-4 lead capped with an ace from senior Audrey Bennett.   Converse used a 5-0 run for a 9-9 score moments later, but junior Sabrina Oncins put VSU up for good in the set with kill starting an 8-2 run as VSU extended the lead to 17-11 with a bookend kill from Oncins.  VSU kept the momentum going with a 6-0 run forcing set point and then won on a kill from Pettigrew for a 25-17 win.  The Blazers hit .179 for the third set, but Converse had a match-high eight errors for the frame, while VSU had its fewest miscues with five.  The Valkyries hit just .067 for the set
 
Fourth Set:
With the momentum from extending the match, VSU jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the fourth set capped with an ace from Bennett.  A 5-0 run from Converse broke a 14-14 tie courtesy of two errors on the Blazers and three kills for a 19-14 lead for the visitors.  VSU pulled within 21-19 on a kill from Smith and two errors, but VSU would get no closer than two the rest of the way.  Leading 23-21, the Valkyries won the match with back-to-back miscues from VSU, 25-21.  The Blazers had their worst set of the match hitting .028 with ten kills, nine errors in 36 swings.  Converse hit .235 with 13 kills and five errors on 34 attempts.  
 
Inside the Numbers:

• For the match, VSU hit .138 with 49 kills, 27 errors in 160 swings, while the Valkyries had 51 kills with 23 errors in 165 swings for a .170 average
• Pettigrew finished with a match-high 14 kills, four blocks and two solo rejections, while Smith had 11 kills and three total blocks
• Bennett finished with 39 assists, while sophomore Lily Glover and senior Kaia Baker each had a team-high 18 digs
• Converse had 11 kills from Noemia Chiacchio and ten from Alayah Roberson, while Alysha Arroyo had 24 assists and 24 digs for a double-double.  
• Roberson hit an even .500 with ten kills in 20 swings.

 
Up Next: 
The Blazers will continue in the tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Friday versus Winston-Salem State, while they will play Rollins at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and conclude the tournament with Erskine on Saturday at 7 p.m.