VALDOSTA, Ga. – On the final morning of the VSU Fall Tournament, Valdosta State volleyball (1-6) battled hard through five sets (16-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-10, 13-15) with Georgia College (5-3). Georgia College claimed the first two sets before a fired-up Blazer team evened the match at 2-2. The Bobcats took the final set in a close finish to claim a dramatic victory.

The Bobcats came out hot in the first set, jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Back-to-back kills from senior Katie Callenberger gave the offense some juice. The Blazers found themselves behind 16-7 after a trio of kills from senior Ava Young, senior Sabrina Oncins, and freshman Madison Kilmer. Kilmer served up consecutive aces, while Callenberger and Oncins each added another kill, but VSU could not close the gap in the opening set where Georgia College took a 25-16 win.

It was the Blazers who came sprinting out of the gates in the second set. Oncins rattled off four consecutive serves after a kill from Young, which saw the Blazers lead 5-1 early. The teams fought closely, trading service errors before kills from Oncins, sophomore Avery Mullins, and junior Hailey Holder saw them draw even at 15 each. Callenberger added a kill and the teams traded runs on their way to another draw at 20-20. The Blazers would add two more points courtesy of Bobcat errors, but Georgia College closed out the set to win 25-22.

Kilmer started the third set off with a kill, initiating a run of three serves (including two aces) for Macy Brown. Callenberger added a block as VSU went ahead 4-0. The teams traded blows in the middle of the set, with Callenberger, Kilmer, Mullins and Oncins adding crucial kills on the way to an 8-7 Blazer lead. A block from Mullins moved Valdosta State up to nine. Callenberger added another kill as Brown took over for another service run, serving up two more aces across a four-point service run to put VSU in front 14-8. Kills from Brown, Kilmer, and freshman Ava Keuntjes kept the offense rolling as they built a lead. The Blazers found themselves ahead 21-15 after a Bobcat error and another kill from Kilmer. Georgia College then recorded three straight points to cut the lead to 21-18. Asia Montagnani entered and recorded a kill. Valdosta State took the set 25-22 after one more kill from Callenberger and another Bobcat error.

The offense kept pumping up the scoreboard early in the fourth set. Kills from Callenberger (2), Oncins, Mullins and Young saw the Blazers take an early 8-3 lead. Georgia College recorded a pair of points before a kill from Oncins started another run. Oncins would then serve an ace, and Holder and Mullins would add kills to make it 12-6. Keuntjes served up an ace and Kilmer followed her with a kill to put the Blazers ahead 14-7. The tally grew to 17-7 thanks to point from Kilmer and Montagnani. Callenberger added back-to-back kills to another kill from Kilmer and an ace from Brown to expand the lead to 21-8. Georgia College worked up to ten points, but kills from Kilmer, Young, Mullins, and Oncins would put them away 25-10.

The Blazers and Bobcats entered the final set each having won back-to-back sets during the contest. The teams traded errors, and a kill from Kilmer saw the Blazers trail 3-2. Callenberger would knock down a kill before Kilmer added two more and VSU found themselves ahead 6-4. Young recorded a kill, but a run from Georgia College saw them jump ahead 10-8. Callenberger (2), Young, and Brown added kills down the stretch but the Bobcats edged out the set and match with a 15-13 fifth set victory.

Kilmer's 12 kills, nine digs, 15.5 points, and three aces were all new career-high marks in her freshman season. Mullins set five season-high totals against Georgia College in kills (5), assists (35), points (7), digs (10), and total blocks (1). Brown led the team with five aces in the match. Callenberger paced the Blazers in both kills (15) and blocks (3). Keuntjes' 18 digs were her single-match high and the most by a Blazer on the day.

The 2025 Fall Tournament wrapped up this evening. Results from the event can be found here.

Looking Forward
VSU volleyball is back in action in Tampa next weekend. They will take on the University of Tampa on Friday, Sept. 19^th at 7 p.m. ET. They will then set their sights on Florida Southern Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

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