Valdosta State UniversityValdosta State head coach Kaleigh Zoucha stands on the sidelines during a match against Georgia College on on Oct. 25 at The Complex.

The Valdosta State volleyball team concludes the 2018 home schedule with No. 19 West Florida Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at The Complex. The match is “Dig Pink” for the Blazers and all fans are encouraged to wear pink.

In addition, head coach Kaleigh Zoucha and the Blazers have partnered with The Side-Out Foundation and its Dig Pink initiative and need help to make the campaign a success. Funds raised for Side-Out go toward a clinical trial specifically for patients with stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease and the least funded area of research. Click on the link at the top of the page to donate to this wonderful cause.

The Blazers are 14-15 overall and 9-4 in Gulf South Conference play. VSU, with a 3-1 win on Saturday over West Georgia, clinched a berth in the upcoming GSC Volleyball Championship. Following the match Tuesday, VSU concludes the regular season Friday and Saturday at West Alabama and Mississippi College, respectively.

VSU then will head to the conference championship in Pensacola, Fla., Nov. 9-10 as league champion West Florida will play host to the championship. Check back with vstateblazers.com following the match at Mississippi College on Saturday to see where the Blazers will be seeded and who they will play.

The Blazers went 2-1 last week with a 3-1 win over Auburn Montgomery, a 3-1 non-conference loss to Georgia College and a 3-1 win over West Georgia on Senior Day this past Saturday. VSU was picked eighth in the preseason league poll and certainly exceeded expectations as it will finish in the top six heading into the conference tournament next week.

Against West Georgia, VSU dominated the first two sets as the Wolves rallied for a third-set win, but the Blazers used a 27-25 win in the fourth set to clinch the match and the season split with West Georgia. Freshman Jesssie Mooney had a career-high 18 kills in the match and hit .341 for the match to lead the team. She also had 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Senior Chloe’ Chubilleau also added a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, while junior Dariah Powell had a season-high 26 digs to lead the team.

The Blazers are fifth in the league standings, game ahead of Alabama Huntsville, who has not qualified for the postseason tournament as of yet. VSU won 3-1 at UAH earlier this year and also has the tiebreaker over the Chargers for seeding purposes should the two finish the regular season with the same conference record.

VSU will be making its 15th appearance in the GSC Volleyball Championship and first since 2016. West Florida cliched the No. 1-seed in the six-team tournament, beginning Nov. 9. The top two seeds will earn byes, while the No. 3/6 matchup and the No. 4/5 matchup will be Nov. 9 with the winners playing the top two seeds Nov. 10 and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 11. VSU has one GSC Championship in program history in 2014 and is 7-13 (.350) all-time in the championship.

This season, the Blazers have 1,274 kills and average 11.8 kills per set for a .184 hitting percentage on 3,743 swings. VSU has 1,210 assists with 199 aces in 2,290 serves. Defensively, the Blazers have 1,623 digs (15.03/s) and 156.5 total blocks with 56 solo and 201 assisted rejections.

Nationally speaking, VSU is 27thnationally and third in the GSC in aces per set at 1.84, while ranking 13thnationally and first in the conference in total aces with 199. The Blazers are fifth in the GSC and 64thnationally in total assists (1,210) and 71stin total kills (1,274) also good for fifth in the league. VSU is fourth in the league and 60thnationally in total attacks with 3,743.

Individually, Chubilleau ranks second in the league and 30thnationally in aces, while sophomore teammate Tammy Reyes-Perez is third in the league and 36thnationally with 41 aces. Reyes-Perez is 23rdnationally and first in the league in total assists with 1,060. She is third in the league in assists per set at 9.81 for 80thnationally. Chubilleau leads the team with 272 kills for 10thin the league, while junior Kayla Widera is fifth in the league in blocks with 96 for 69thnationally. Senior Lindsey Robinson is ninth in the league in hitting percentage at a .259 clip, while ranking second in the conference in league games at a .352 clip.

Mooney ranks second on the team in kills with 246 and has 25 aces on the season for third on the team. Robinson ranks fourth on the team in kills with 183, while Widera is third with 194. Robinson is second on the team in blocks with 33 total and 10 solo.

West Florida downed the Blazers 3-0 in Pensacola, Fla., Sept. 22, while VSU battled back for a thrilling 3-1 win over West Alabama and won 3-2 over Mississippi College at The Complex in September. West Florida is 21-7 overall and 13-1 in the GSC to lead the league. West Alabama currently is tied for second with Montevallo with an 11-3 league record and is 19-8 overall, while Mississippi College is 1-13 in conference play and 7-23 overall.