VALDOSTA, Ga. – UWG Volleyball closed their 2022 season with a 3-0 loss to the Valdosta State Blazers on Friday night.
West Georgia (12-20, 4-12 GSC) got out-hit by Valdosta State (14-18, 8-8 GSC) as the Blazers racked up 36 kills on a .198 hitting percentage compared to the
Wolves' 30 kills on a .067 hitting percentage, propelling VSU to their eighth conference win.
The Blazers won the race to 10 in set one, leading 10-7 before forcing the Wolves to burn their first timeout of the match after a kill from VSU's Jojo Smith put UWG in a 13-9 deficit. West Georgia responded well out of the timeout, as a block from
Emilee Harris and
Sanai Young sparked a 4-0 run for the Wolves to tie the game at 13 and forced a Valdosta State timeout. Out of the timeout, the Blazers would continue the trade of runs, as VSU went on a 7-2 run to take a commanding 20-15 lead late. Three straight kills from
Sarah Pipping, Young, and Harris made things interesting late, but Valdosta State would go on to win the set, 25-22.
The Wolves found themselves in an early deficit in set two, trailing 11-5 to begin. Another kill from Pipping halted VSU's momentum for a moment but Valdosta contained their distance from West Georgia as the Wolves trailed 14-9 midway through the set. Down five, UWG desperately needed a spark and got it from
Caitlin Frazee who put down four kills to carry a 6-1 West Georgia run that cut the deficit to one until another kill from Valdosta State's Smith stole the momentum right back. Smith's sixth kill of the night started a 10-6 run for the Blazers, winning VSU the set, 25-20.
UWG got out to a quick 6-3 lead in set three before eventually losing the race to 10 by one point. Seconds later, Harris would tie the match up at 10 with a well-placed kill before
Isabella Steffel and Frazee regained the lead for the Wolves with a thunderous block. West Georgia got their lead up to 15-12 after
Autumn Mayes' sixth kill of the night capped off a 6-2 UWG run, forcing a Valdosta State timeout. That timeout completely changed the momentum of the set as the Blazers went on a 13-1 run to clinch the set, 25-16, and the match.
Frazee led the Wolves offensively with a team-high eight kills on a .471 hitting percentage, while
Sydney Blackmon led UWG defensively with a team-high 20 digs.
West Georgia ends the 2022 campaign with an overall record of 12-20 and a 4-12 conference record.