PENSACOLA, Fla. – Rachel Neblett  and Jordyn Poppen combined for 31 kills and a .459 hitting percentage to help lead 20th-ranked UWF past Valdosta State, 3-0, at the UWF Field House Tuesday night.
 
Neblett hit an eye-popping .609 while Poppen put down a match-high 17 kills. Both players were in on two of the team's four blocks.
 
UWF (23-6, 13-0 Gulf South) moved a step closer to clinching the GSC regular-season title, holding a two-and-a-half match lead with three contests remaining. The Argonauts will return to action on Friday with a road contest at Auburn-Montgomery (9-17, 1-11). First whistle at the AUM Athletics Complex is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
 
On Tuesday, UWF hit .294 and recorded 57 digs. Logan Kael had 17 and Nadine Williams finished with 13. Monique StCyr handed out 37 assists and four kills as well.
 
The Argos led 19-16 in a back-and-forth first set before scoring four-consecutive points and ending the frame on a 6-2 run for a 25-17 win.
 
The second set saw the same final tally but the Argos grabbed leads of 5-1 and 11-5 before trading side-outs for 13 of the next 14 points. UWF got a pair of kills from Williams, before a block from Williams and Neblett to surge ahead 22-14, while trading points the remainder of the set.
 
VSU put a scare into UWF early in the third, moving out to a 4-1 lead. But the home squad used runs of 6-0 and 7-0 in the midst of a larger 17-3 stretch while cruising to a 25-16 decision.
 
VSU (10-15, 5-8) was led on offense by Tristyn Sells who had nine kills. Chloe Chubilleau had six kills on 25 swings. The Blazers hit .135 and committed 16 attack errors.