PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Auburn University at Montgomery women's volleyball team captured the first postseason victory in program history with their 3-1 win over Valdosta State on Friday afternoon at the GSC Championships. 

NOTES
- The win is the first playoff victory in the Warhawks' three years of existence.
- Three Warhawks recorded at least 10 kills in the contest.
- The Warhawks won the match 25-12, 25-21, 23-25, 25-11.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Sommer Rhea led the Warhawks with 17 kills while also totaling a team-high 22 digs. 
- Rhea also moved into first place in program history in digs.
- Isadora Nicolai netted 54 assists in the win against Valdosta State. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warhawks used a dominating opening set to set the town for the rest of the match. AUM jumped out to a 9-4 lead on kills from Nyah Whittlesey and Giada Pais-Marden. The Warhawks used stellar defense to extend their lead to 17-8 late in the first set. Rhea started her stellar night with kills to run the first set to 22-10. Ariadne Borges would cement the first set in favor of the Warhawks with a kill to give AUM a 25-12 victory in the opening frame.   
- AUM would continue their offensive success in the opening portion of the second set as well as kills by Borges and Rhea propelled the Orange & Black to a 6-3 lead. The Lady Blazers brought the score to 8-11 in the middle stages of the second set on an attack error from Jaylyn Felder. However, with the Warhawks up by two, the Warhawks took four of five points to take a 18-14 lead over Valdosta State. The Lady Blazers answered with four points of their own to tie the second set at 18. Both sides would go back and forth for the remainder of the set and it was two kills from Whittlesey that clinched the second set in favor of the Warhawks 25-21.        
- Just like the end of the second set, the Warhawks and Lady Blazers traded points for the first 20 scores of the third set. The Warhawks, thanks to three-straight kills from Rhea, took a 11-9 advantage in the third frame. Valdosta State claimed a 16-14 lead in the middle portions of the third set, but the Orange & Black answered with eight of the next 10 points to take a 22-18. After the run from AUM, Valdosta State netted seven of the next eight points to force a fourth set. 
- The Warhawks would make sure the match would not go to a fifth and deciding set by taking a 11-4 lead early in the fourth frame. The Lady Blazers would come all the way back to run the game to 10-13 in favor of AUM, but Valdosta State would register just one point for the remainder of the match. The Orange & Black took the next 11 points to win the set 25-11 and with the match 3-1. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- AUM had the lead in kills 65-38.
- The Warhawks netted 78 digs while VSU recorded 70. 
- The Warhawks recorded six service aces, while holding Valdosta State to two.   

UP NEXT
The Warhawks will take on the West Georgia Wolves in the quarterfinals of the GSC Championships at 6:30 tonight. 
 
For the latest on AUM athletics, find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.