ROME -- Volleyball topped Valdosta State, 3-1, in exciting fashion Saturday afternoon as they opened the home portion of their schedule. The win improves the Lady Hawks to 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference play and also extends Shorter's win streak to three games.

The Lady Hawks won the first two sets to take a 2-0 lead, before the Blazers took set three, and Shorter closed out the win with a thrilling final set to earn the win.
Set scores were 25-23, 25-13, 17-25, and 25-23, respectively.

Knowing the competition and the game would be tough, the Lady Hawks came ready to play and were up for the challenge. The Blazers came out in the first set fighting, but Shorter took a 3-0 lead quickly in the set. Valdosta State tied the game at 6-6, but Shorter answered to break the tie. The back-and-forth scoring continued throughout the set with Valdosta State's last lead coming at 22-21, but Shorter went on a 4-1 run to earn the first set win.

The Lady Hawks dominated play in the second set to earn the win, before dropping the third set to the Blazers.

The fourth game, much like the first, was a back-and-forth affair that saw 11 tied scores and six lead changes. Valdosta State came within two points of earning the win to force a fifth set, leading 23-21, when Shorter went on a 4-0 run to earn the win.

Offensively, the Lady Hawks were led by Jasmine Crook; who turned in 12 kills, Anna Graham; who tallied 10, and Elizabeth Dowd; who finished with 9.  Dena Pierce recorded 26 assists in the match, while Cheyenne Frady tallied 16.

Defensively, Cheyenne McLemore led Shorter with 17 digs, Pierce added 16, and both Crook and Dowd posted 12.

Crook and Graham each tallied two solo blocks in the match, with Graham also assisting on two.

The Blazers were led by Jessica Codato who tallied 41 assists, and 17 digs.

The Lady Hawks will be back in action Thursday, September 19, as they travel to West Alabama for a Gulf South Conference match-up.

Fans who couldn't make it to the game Saturday can watch the match online courtesy of Southpaw Productions: https://new.livestream.com/SouthpawProductions/events/3357858/videos/61928249