ROME, Ga. - Comeback wins in the first two sets and a runaway victory in the third allowed the Valdosta State volleyball team to prevail 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) over the West Florida Argonauts in the semifinal round of the GSC Tournament to earn a trip to Sunday's championship match.

Prior to the 2014 season, the Blazers had seen seven full seasons come and go since they last topped West Florida. Saturday's win marked the second time that VSU defeated the Argonauts this year, and the win improved the Blazers to 23-7. Meanwhile, the Argonauts fell to 24-7 overall, and now must await the NCAA Regional selection show to learn whether their season will extend further.

"This was a gutsy team effort today," said Head Coach Mike Swan following the victory. "We hung tough to win the first set and then came from down six in the second to win it convincingly. I think our strong serving effort and excellent defense caused fits for UWF in the third set, and we played with alot of confidence throughout the entire match. We also had timely hitting from every position today."

Valdosta State fell behind 23-21 late in the first frame, but after a timeout taken by Swan, the Blazers came roaring back with a 5-1 run that included kills by Destiny Berry, Kelsey Hedman, and Nicole Higgins, along with a game-winning service ace from Jenna Kirkwood.

The second set saw VSU recover from a 18-12 deficit with an 8-2 run that tied that match at 20-20. The final moments of the set unfolded in similar fashion to the first, as the Blazers broke a 21-21 tie when UWF's Tori Martella mishit a service attempt to give VSU the 22-21 advantage. Ashley Lala proceeded to serve out the match with three straight points for the 25-21 win.

In the third and final set, Valdosta State used a 7-4 run to snap an 18-18 stalemate, and Lea Jaklen capped the victory with her 10th kill of the contest. The freshman led the Blazers on the attack with a .348 hitting percentage and just two errors in 23 attempts. Nine digs and two blocks helped seal one of the best matches of the season for Jaklen, and earned the Blazers an opportunity to win their first ever GSC Championship on Sunday against the Lions of North Alabama.

Sunday's title match in Rome, Ga. is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. EST, and live stats and video of the contest can be accessed right here at www.vstateblazers.com.