Facing the hottest team in the Gulf South Conference the Lee volleyball team snapped a five-match winning streak for Valdosta State with a dominating 3-0 victory on Friday night from Walker Arena.
Aided on by a loud and boisterous crowd the Lady Flames jumped out and scored the first four points of the match on pin point serving from setter Sadie Johnson. From there the Lady Flames never looked back en route to a 25-19 victory in set one.
Sets two and three were more of the same as a balanced Lee attack outscored the Blazers 25-17 and 25-18 to complete the straight set win.
"It was a great win. I knew we were really hurting after that lost the other night and several girls were ready to come back strong," said head coach Andrea Hudson following the match. "Valdosta has been playing really well of late so I was really proud of the girls."
Junior Brooke Wilsman registered a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs. Senior Silvia Sartori followed suite with 11 slams and 12 digs. Junior-transfer Carly Callahan posted 10 kills and .474 hitting percentage. Catherine Conley patrolled the middle and added eight kills while Johnson finished with three aces and tallied 27 assists to aid the effort.
As a team the Lady Flames hit .366 for the match compared to a .258 mark for Valdosta State. Blaire Beamer stepped off the bench in sets two and three and provided a spark with six slams.
"We got great production from everyone in the lineup tonight. Carly Callahan really stepped up on the right side for us and we brought Blaire in and she did a really nice job in sets two and three," noted Hudson. There was a few spots there where Cat (Conley) really got on a nice run and Brooke and Silvia were just about even in kills tonight so that balance is important for us."
MaKayla Beebe showed why she is third in the league in digs as she compiled a match-high 22 to go along with a pair of service aces.
Valdosta State was led by Susanna Peonia and her eight kills. Carly Smart pitched in 16 assists and Sydney Chick roamed the back line for 17 digs.
Lee improves to 11-12 on the year and 7-8 in the GSC as they look to chase down a spot in the conference tournament. The Blazers fall to 12-12 overall and 8-6 in league play.
The Lady Flames will not have long to savor the victory as they will welcome the GSC frontrunner West Florida to Walker Arena on Saturday for a 3 p.m. showdown.
"It's always good to play West Florida here at home as they are very difficult to beat at their place. I think are girls are really looking forward to it," concluded Hudson.
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