TAMPA, Fla. —
Valdosta State split on the second day of the Gulf South Conference and Sunshine State Conference Crossover Tournament. The Blazers beat Saint Leo, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-16), while falling to Rollins in a slugfest, 3-2 (25-27, 26-28, 25-11, 25-18, 15-6).
Valdosta State started the day with a close match against the Tars, winning the first two sets in extra points, 27-25 and 28-26. Rollins rebounded impressively in the third set, 25-11, and the fourth set, 25-18. The Tars ran away with the fifth set, 15-6, as the Blazers put up a negative attacking percentage.
Individual Blazers did have good matches though. Freshman Nikki McDaniel led VSU against Rollins with 18 kills while Katie Onushko and Tania Tauiliili each added 16. Ashley Lala gave out 49 assists in the match while Chelsea Luttfring had 20 digs.
McDaniel was just behind her with 13 while Krista Bradford and Onushko combined for 21 digs.
Valdosta State turned around and put together a better performance against Saint Leo. Onushko exploded for 20 kills with a .342 attacking percentage. Tauiliili did the same with 15 kills and an even more impressive .542 attacking percentage.
Lala gave out 48 more assists in the match while Luttfring dug up 15 balls. McDaniel added nine.
After losing the first set, VSU bounced back to win three straight and improve to 13-10 on the season.
For the day, Onushko finished with 36 kills while Tauiliili had 31. McDaniel and Berry combined for 40 kills on the day. Lala gave 97 assists. Luttfring finished the day with 35 digs while McDaniel finished with 22.
Valdosta State will end the weekend with a match against Eckerd at 11 a.m. Saturday.
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That wasn’t the case in the Late Model division, as Valdosta's Gene Ross drove to victory once again, but not without some close competition from Steven Roberts who came in second.
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VSU softball wins South Region, headed to nationals
For the third time in four years, and second in a row, Valdosta State’s softball team will play in the national championship tournament.
The Blazers won their third South Region championship Saturday, beating Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 in game three of the best-of-three series at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park. - More Local Sports Headlines
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