VALDOSTA – The wait is finally over as the 2022-23 Valdosta State athletic season begins this week.

The Blazer women’s soccer and volleyball teams get underway week as both teams open Thursday with the women’s soccer team at home against Clayton State and the volleyball team heads to the Northeast.

The women’s soccer team hosts the Lakers on Thursday, Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m., at the VSU Soccer Complex, while the volleyball team travels to Saint Anslem for a 5:30 p.m., matchup, in Manchester, N.H., followed by four matches at the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., Aug. 26-27.

Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more.

Each Monday this season, a weekly preview of the sports for that week will be posted and archived on vstateblazers.com.

WOMEN’S SOCCER 

The Blazer women’s soccer team returns a wealth of talent from its 11-7-1 record from a season ago.  The Blazers went 8-4-1 in Gulf South Conference play and earned a berth in the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2014.  Head coach Stephen Andrew begins his sixth season at the helm of the Blazers as he is 46-29-6 overall (.690) and 37-16-5 (.681) in GSC play.

VSU was picked fourth in the GSC Preseason Poll and had three players named to the GSC All-Preseason Team. Sophomore defender Taylor Morris, sophomore forward Molly Wooldridge and senior midfielder Bailey Hern all earn all-preseason accolades. Wooldridge was named GSC Freshman of the Year in 2021 and earned second team all-conference honors, logging nine goals with three assists for 21 points to lead the team. Morris helped a back line as she logged 1,513 minutes in 19 starts with one goal and one assist, also earning second team all-league honors as a freshman. Hern finished with seven goals and four assists for 18 points for second on the team in all three areas. She had a team-high 39 shots with 20 on frame and a team-high three game-winners.

Clayton State was picked fifth in the Peach Belt Conference Preseason Poll earlier this month and the Lakers are led by second-year head coach Ross Henderson. Laker forward Reia Henry earned preseason all-league honors following a 2021 campaign that saw her score eight goals and 16 points. She earned second team all-conference accolades. Henry earning preseason all-league honors marks the first time for Clayton State since 2016.

The Lakers and Blazers have met six times with each team winning three. VSU won 3-2 in double overtime last season in Morrow, Ga., as Hern scored the game winner 2:20 into the second overtime for her second goal of the game. Clayton State won the last time the teams met in Valdosta in 2019, 2-1, as the Blazers are 2-1 at home for the series and 1-2 in Morrow. Thursday’s match marks the third-straight fall season the teams have opened playing each other.

VOLLEYBALL

With a mix of fresh new faces and key returners, the Blazer volleyball team is set to begin its season with a road trip up the East Coast, taking on Saint Anselm on Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m., in in Manchester, N.H., and then playing in the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament Aug. 26-27 in Waltham, Mass.

The Blazers, who were picked ninth in the GSC Preseason Poll, finished the 2021 season with a 12-20 record and a 5-11 mark in the GSC. Sophomore Jojo Smith, the reigning GSC Freshman of the Year from 2021, led the team in kills with 293 while sophomore Lyara Rosario led the team in digs with 571. The team finished the 2021 season with 1,365 total kills, 1,860 total digs and a .153 attack percentage.

Thursday’s meeting with Saint Anselm marks the first meeting between the Blazers and the Hawks. Saint Anselm was picked fourth in the Northeast-10 Preseason Poll and finished the 2021 season with a 19-8 record and a 9-4 mark in conference play. Last year, the Hawks were 17th in the nation in aces per set, good for conference best, and were second in the NE-10 in assists per set, kills per set and aces per set.

In the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, the Blazers will take on Purdue University Northwest at 12 p.m. and American International at 4:30 p.m., on August 26 and will round out the tournament with Bentley at 11 a.m., and Holy Family University at 3:30 p.m. on August 27.

Last season, PNW recorded a 2-23 record and a 0-14 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Friday’s meeting marks the first time the Blazers will face the Pride.

American International had a strong 2021 season, as the team recorded a 29-7 record and an 11-2 mark in the NE-10. The Yellow Jackets were picked league favorites in the NE-10 Preseason Poll, as the team made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Daemen in the NCAA Division II East Regional Final.

The meeting with Bentley also marks the first meeting between the Blazers and the Falcons. Last year, Bentley recorded a 15-13 record and a 9-4 mark in the NE-10. The Falcons fell to Daemen in the first round of the NCAA DII East Regional, and were picked second in the NE-10 Preseason Poll.

To round out the Tournament, the Blazers will face Holy Family University for the first time. Last season the Tigers had a 25-5 record and an 18-0 mark in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Tigers made it to the second round of the NCAA DII East Regional last season, bowing out to American International. The defending CACC champions were selected second In the CACC Preseason Poll.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Blazers open the 2022 home slate for volleyball on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m., at The Complex, before heading to the Newberry College Invitational (Sept. 2-3).  The Blazer soccer team hosts Georgia College on Sept. 1, at 6 p.m., while the No. 2/3 Blazer football team opens the Tremaine Jackson era on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m., at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium versus Keiser University.  The Blazer men’s and women’s cross country teams host the annual VSU Border Clash on Friday, Sept. 2 beginning at 6:20 p.m., at Freedom Park in Valdosta.