VALDOSTA, Ga. -  The Valdosta State volleyball team hosted the No. 17 West Florida Argonauts at the Complex tonight in the opening match of 2025 Gulf South Conference play. The Blazers battled through all four sets (28-26, 18-25, 23-25, 15-25) but the Argonauts claimed the victory.
 
After UWF scored seven of the first ten points, the Blazers roared back behind a trio of kills from senior Katie Callenberger and tied the opening set at 7-7 with a nice kill from sophomore Avery Mullins. From there, UWF scored the next four points for an 11-7 lead, leading to a timeout by the Blazers. 
 
Out of the stoppage, senior Katie Callenberger had a nice kill to fire the crowd up, but UWF responded with three of the next four points for a 14-9 advantage highlighted by back-to-back kills from Gabi Moulton. Block assists from freshman Madison Kilmer and senior Ava Young pulled the Blazers within 14-13.  
 
As the back-and-forth play continued in the opening set, UWF used a block from Kumara Flanagain for an 18-14 lead, leading to a second Blazer timeout. A kill and a block from senior Sabrina Oncins pulled VSU back within 18-16.  Another block by Young pulled VSU within 20-19 and led to a timeout by the Argos. Out of the stoppage, an error on the Argos tied the set at 20-20 marking the first tie since 2-2. 
 
A huge kill from Blazer junior Asia Montagnani gave VSU its first lead since 2-1. She added another kill for a 22-20 Blazer lead, marking the largest advantage of the set for the red and black. An error on the Argos gave VSU a 23-20 advantage and brought about another UWF timeout. Following UWF's led 18-14, VSU outscored the Argos 6-2. VSU pulled within set point courtesy of another great finish from Montagnani for a 24-20 lead, but UWF erased the deficit with four kills to tie things at 24-24. The Argos challenged a kill attempt from Blazer sophomore Eva LaRochelle and the call was overturned, giving UWF a 25-24 advantage. VSU ended the Argo run with yet another kill from Montagnani for a 25-25 score. 
 
The teams tied once again at 26 for the fifth tie of the set. Montagnani added her seventh emphatic kill of the set to put the Blazers in front, and an error on the Argos gave VSU the dramatic 28-26 first set victory. VSU had 17 kills in the opening set to UWF's 12 and the Blazers hit .250, while holding UWF to a .063 clip. Montagnani had seven huge kills in the opening frame, while Callenberger added four kills. The Blazers had five total blocks in the set with three solo rejections. The first set win marked the first time VSU had won the opening set against UWF since Oct. 20, 2015, in a 3-2 win over the Argos in The Complex. That also marked the last time VSU defeated UWF as the Argos have won the last 14 meetings.
 
VSU opened the second set with momentum, scoring the first four points of the set and five of the first six capped off by a kill from Kilmer.  The run continued, Oncins gave VSU a 7-2 lead with a nice kill, and the Blazers extended the lead to an 8-2 with an ace from Young, setting up a timeout by the Argos.  A kill from redshirt freshman Ava Keuntjes gave VSU a 9-2 lead.  UWF kept chipping away at the deficit.  A long rally and kill from UWF pulled the Argos within 10-9 and led to a Blazer timeout, as UWF was in the midst of a 7-1 run.  UWF tied the set with a kill from Ana Colon and took its first lead of the set on an error by the Blazers.  On another long rally, VSU came up with a great kill from Callenberger and an 11-11 score, ending the run by the Argos.  UWF scored the next three points for a 14-11 lead and a timeout by the Blazers.  UWF stretched the lead to 18-13 with an ace from Moulton. A kill from Liberty McLean pushed the lead to 19-13 in favor of UWF.   A kill from Kilmer and a block from Oncins pulled VSU within 21-16.  A kill from Moulton gave UWF set point at 24-18 and UWF leveled the set with a kill for a 25-18 win. 
 
For the second set, VSU hit .170 with 12 kills in 53 swings, while UWF hit .306 with 18 kills in 49 swings. Through two sets, Montagnani had ten kills for the Blazers, while Kilmer had seven. UWF was led by seven kills each from Moulton and Colon. 
 
In the third set, UWF broke a 4-4 tie with a 5-1 run to claim an early 9-5 lead. The Argos capped their run with a kill from Flanagain and VSU called a timeout early in the third set. Out of the timeout, VSU pulled within 10-8 courtesy of an ace from Keuntjes and a miscue by the Argos.  Kilmer had a nice kill pulling VSU within 12-11 off an assist from Keuntjes. Kilmer notched her 13^th kill of the match for a 14-14 score and the first tie of the set since 1-1. 
 
The Argos quickly scored three-straight points, and the Blazers used their second timeout. Out of the timeout, built its lead to 20-15 courtesy of a 6-1 run. The Blazers ended the run with a kill from Mullins.  A big rejection from graduate Macy Brown pulled VSU within 20-17. An error on UWF pulled VSU within 20-18 and led to a timeout by UWF with momentum shifting back to the Blazers. 
 
Out of the timeout, another block from Callenberger trimmed the deficit to 20-19. An ace from Camryn Brooks gave UWF a 22-19 lead and an error on the Blazers swelled the deficit to 23-19. UWF gained set point with an error on the Blazers.  The Blazers, however, staved off set point four times with four errors on the Argos for a 24-23 deficit followed by a timeout by the Argos. A big kill on the back line from Colon gave UWF a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. VSU held UWF to negative hitting in a defensive third set at -.019 as the Argos had ten errors and nine kills, while VSU hit .061 with nine kills and six errors. Kilmer had a season-high 14 kills through three sets, while Montagnani had ten kills, also a season-high. 
 
UWF opened the fourth set with the first four points and six of the first seven for a 6-1 lead. Back-to-back blocks and an error on the Argos pulled VSU within 6-4. The Argonauts built an 11-5 lead and the Blazers used their second timeout of the set. UWF stretched the lead to 15-6 courtesy of four miscues on the Blazers, but Montagnani came up with a kill to stop the bleeding at 15-7. The Blazers kept fighting and pulled within 21-13 on an emphatic kill from Oncins. UWF went on to a 25-15 victory to win the match.

Two Blazers set season and career highs in kills on Tuesday in freshman Madison Kilmer (team-best 15) and junior Asia Montagnani (12). Seniors Ava Young and Sabrina Oncins tied to lead VSU with four blocks each. Young and freshman Ava Keuntjes each recorded an ace. Keuntjes posted a team-high 22 digs. Sophomore Avery Mullins led the Blazers in assists with 33, moving her season total to 191.

Looking Forward
The Blazers return to the road this weekend, traveling to Christian Brothers on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, and then taking on Union Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. They will then return home for a big week of three matches at The Complex starting next Tuesday against Auburn Montgomery at 6 p.m. ET.

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