VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta state volleyball team (10-12, 9-4 Gulf South Conference) swept the visiting Union Lady Bulldogs (4-16, 2-11 GSC) tonight at the Complex. The Blazers posted their second consecutive victory and the sixth in their last seven matches with the win.

Union opened the match with a kill, but seniors Asia Montagnani and Sabrina Oncins swiftly responded. The former notched three kills and the latter posted two on their way to a 5-1 lead. Senior Ava Young sent down a kill. Another from Montagnani made it 7-2. Senior Katie Callenberger and graduate Macy Brown knocked down the next two Blazer kills.

Union then stormed back to tie the set at nine. Sophomore Eva LaRochelle broke the tie and started a run by sending down a pair of kills. Several Lady Bulldog errors joined her efforts to push VSU back ahead 16-10. The next two Blazer points came on consecutive kills from Oncins, 18-13.

The defense made an impact on back-to-back blocks including a solo from Montagnani and combo from Callenberger and Oncins. Montagnani put away another kill then sophomore Avery Mullins sent down one of her own . LaRochelle claimed the last two points of the set on two kills for a 25-17 win.

Mullins opened the second set by dropping in an ace. Montagnani (2), LaRochelle, and Oncins posted early kills, but the Lady Bulldogs jumped in front 8-6. Montagnani and Callenberger sent down a kill each. Several Union errors set up a kill from Young to tie the set at eleven. Oncins put away the next three kills, 14-13 Blazers.

Montagnani and Callenberger sent down a kill each, then Oncins dropped in a service ace. Two more kills from Callenberger and another from LaRochelle powered the Blazers ahead 21-17.  Young posted a big-time rejection then sent down a kill on the next point. Montagnani notched another kill to move VSU within match point. Finally, Young and Oncins teamed up for a block to win the set 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

LaRochelle and Oncins came out firing away with a kill each in the third set. An ace from junior Eimy Negron Domenech joined kills from Callenberger and Oncins to give VSU an early 6-1 advantage. Callenberger worked with Montagnani on a block then sent down a pair of kills. LaRochelle followed a service ace from freshman Ava Keuntjes with another kill to grow the lead to 12-4.

LaRochelle and Callenberger worked together on another big-time rejection. Oncins slammed home a pair of kills then Mullins followed with an ace, 17-7.  Union fought back, but kills from LaRochelle, Montagnani, and Callenberger along with several errors kept the Blazers in front 22-13. Montagnani and Callenberger teamed up for one final block and Oncins sent down yet another kill. A final Lady Bulldog error secured a 25-14 win in the set and a 3-0 Blazer sweep on the match.

Senior Sabrina Oncins led the team with an efficient 13 kills at a .393 clip. Junior Asia Montagnani also saw a high rate of success on kill attempts, notching 11 at a .556 clip. Callenberger (.444 clip) and LaRochelle (.214 clip) added nine kills each in the win. Callenberger's four total blocks were the most by a Blazer.

Sophomore Avery Mullins led the team in assists as she has in every match to this point in the season, recording 33. Mullins also led the team with 2 service aces. Junior Eimy Negron Domenech posted a team-high 15 digs.

Looking Forward

The Valdosta State volleyball team will hit the road on Tuesday when they travel to Pensacola to take on No. 16 West Florida (17-3, 10-0 GSC) at 7 p.m. ET. The Blazers will then take a trip to Alabama over the weekend where they will take on Montevallo (Friday, Oct. 31^st 7 p.m. ET) and UAH (Saturday, Nov. 1^st 3 p.m. ET).

Check the volleyball schedule page on vstateblazers.com for links to live stats and streaming. 

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