PENSACOLA, Fla. - West Florida (20-6, 12-0 GSC) held on to win two tight sets before being taken to the fourth and promptly taking the frame by storm to defeat Valdosta State (15-11, 7-4 GSC) at UWF Field House on Senior Day 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 15-25, 25-13). Seniors Bailee Sterling, Stephanie Barber, Alex Oliver and Jacque Martin were recognized before the match and were given the start. 
 
The Argos came out firing on all cylinders, opening the first set with an 8-1 run. Sterling and Martin combined for three kills and split a block and Barber assisted three kills and served up an ace in the span to start their special day off strong. Oliver got a kill herself to give her team a 12-4 lead between two Jenna Zydlo kills. At one point, Barber assisted three consecutive kills by Damyah Joyner, the last of which brought the advantage to 20-11. Trailing 22-14, the Blazers broke off a 7-2 run before Sterling ended the frame with another kill. 
 
Despite being outhit in the second frame, the Argos came out on top thanks to Oliver kickstarting a 6-1 run to break open a back-and-forth set. The outside hitter from Jasper, Ala., scored via a kill and an ace. Gabi Moulton added a kill ahead of two Zydlo kills and an ace by Sterling. After VSU got within 20-17, Martin dialed up a kill and an ace herself. Oliver added another kill to bring up set point before a set error put UWF in the lead 2-0. 
 
The Blazers came back to handily win Set 3, holding UWF to a net 0.0 hitting percentage in the period. The Blue and Green took the blow but responded with one better, dominating the hitting battle in the fourth frame 0.484 to 0.12. It wouldn't come easy, as the Blazers opened with a 4-1 advantage. After a pair of Joyner kills and a Sterling ace, the Argos flipped the script as Zydlo skipped the set on consecutive points, slamming the ball home following VSU sets to stake UWF to a 6-5 lead. Sterling had three kills in a row to lead 12-8 and added another combined with two Joyner kills and one from Emily Breazeale in a 4-0 run that made the lead 17-10. The team's last four kills were split evenly between Zydlo and Breazeale as the seniors mostly got to rest in the latter stages with the frame in hand.
 
Joyner and Zydlo led the team with 13 kills apiece to lead the offense, with Zydlo only committing one error on 18 attempts for a blistering .667 mark and adding a solo block. Each of the seniors enjoyed productive days and each had at least one ace to lead the offense. Sterling contributed nine kills, two aces and two block assists. Martin was next in line with eight with two aces herself and eight digs. Oliver also served a pair of aces in addition to four kills. Barber put up 18 assists and 10 digs herself. Moulton had 23 assists and eight digs. 
 
The Argos stay at home for their final home match of the regular season on October 31, a 6 pm matchup with Mississippi College that will mark the program's annual Pack-it-Pink Night. 
 
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