VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State volleyball team (11-15, 10-7 Gulf South Conference) won its eighth-straight match against West Alabama (10-15, 5-12 GSC) on Friday evening making it 22 wins in the last 28 opportunities against the Tigers. The win marked the third-straight year the Blazers have won double-digit conference matches and the fourth time under head coach Kaleigh Zoucha. VSU clinched a spot in the Gulf South Conference postseason championship last week and still has a chance at a first round bye in the conference tournament with a strong finish in the final three matches of the season.
In front of a large crowd, including a large contingent of the VSU women's soccer team, the Blazers came out on fire, scoring the first four points of the match leading to an early timeout by the Tigers. VSU kept the pressure on and held a 13-6 lead as UWA called its second timeout of the first set. VSU continued to keep UWA at arm's length and sophomore Avery Mullins used her second kill of the set for a 22-14 lead, while graduate student Macy Brown added a kill and Mullins another for a 24-14 score and set point. UWA staved off two set points, but an error by the Tigers gave VSU the opening set victory, 25-16.
For the first set, the Blazers hit .372 with 18 kills in 43 swings, while registering just two attack errors. UWA hit .136 for the set with 11 kills. Brown had five kills in the opening stanza for the Blazers in eight swings.
VSU opened the second set with three quick points, but UWA scored five of the next six for its first lead of the night at 5-4 on a kill from Kiara Bobanova. The Tigers would extend the lead to 8-5, when senior Katie Callenberger sent down a nice kill to make it an 8-6 deficit. The Blazers kept chipping away and regained the lead with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 10-10, capped by a kill from junior Asia Montagnani. Senior Sabrina Oncins put away a kill for a 14-13 lead, but Bobanova responded with a kill of her own to even the set at 14. Neither side was able to pull away, trading points until a kill from Brown and an error on UWA gave VSU an 18-16 lead into a Tiger timeout.
Out of the stoppage, Mullins put down her fourth kill of the match for a 19-16 score. Following a point from the Tigers, Brown registered her seventh kill of the day for a 20-17 lead and then added her eighth and ninth for a 22-18 lead, leading into a second timeout by the Tigers. UWA ended the mini run with a kill from Katerina Korre and then pulled within 22-20 on a kill from KB Kinney, timeout Blazers. A service error on UWA and an ace from Brown, followed by an attack error on UWA gave VSU a 25-21 victory in set two.
For the set, VSU hit .303 with 16 kills, while UWA hit .250 with 13 kills. VS had six attack errors and the Tigers had four, but three service errors proved costly for UWA. Through two sets, Brown continued to lead with nine kills, while Montagnani had seven kills and Oncins had six for the Blazers.
UWA opened the third set scoring the first point for the first time in the match on a kill by Korre. The Tigers pushed the lead to 6-3 capped with an ace leading to a timeout by the Blazers. Bobanova added a kill for a 7-3 lead, but the Blazers stopped the bleeding with a kill from Montagnani for a 7-4 deficit. VSU remained within striking distance with a kill from Brown and an error on UWA pulled the Blazers within 10-9. Brown knotted the set at ten with her 12th kill of the match. VSU took its first lead of the set with an ace. The Blazers pushed the lead to 16-14 on a kill from Mullins and an error by the Tigers leading to a UWA timeout.
Out of the timeout, Brown registered her 13th kill of the match for a 17-14 lead and then pushed the lead back to three with another kill at 18-15. A pair of quick points from UWA trimmed the VSU lead to 18-17, but the Blazers got the side out with the 15th kill from Brown for a 19-17 score. Mullins served up an ace for a 20-17 score. Bobanova added her eighth kill of the match, pulling the visitors within 20-19 and a timeout by the Blazers.
Kills from Montagnani, senior Ava Young and a block from Young gave VSU a 23-19 lead and UWA needed its final timeout of the set. UWA wouldn't go quietly, however, as it had another kill from Bobanova, but VSU used a kill from Oncins for match point and won the match with a kill from Montagnani, her 11th of the day.
Graduate Macy Brown led the team with 15 kills a strong .462 clip. Brown also led the team with two service aces. Junior Asia Montagnani followed with ten kills at an efficient .333 clip. Oncins added nine with a .286 hitting percentage. Sophomore Avery Mullins led the team with 38 assists in three sets for a pace of 12.67 assists per set. Mullins also sent down five kills at a .250 hitting percentage.
Junior Eimy Negron Domenech began her third straight week as GSC Defensive Player of the Week with an impressive 20 digs in three sets at a rate 6.67 digs per set. Oncins' four blocks were the most by a Blazer.
Looking Forward
VSU closes the 2025 home regular season slate with Mississippi College (10-17, 7-10 GSC) visiting Saturday at 12 p.m. for Senior Day. Prior to the match, VSU will honor six seniors playing in their final regular season home match in a Blazer uniform. The 2025 VSU Senior Class includes; #1 Macy Brown, #3 Ashton Middleton, #5 Ava Young, #6 Kennedy Hairston, #18 Sabrina Oncins, and #20 Katie Callenberger.
Check the volleyball schedule page on vstateblazers.com for links to live stats and streaming.
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