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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Lady Chargers are set to hit road this weekend, as they open up GSC play with matches against Valdosta State (Friday) and West Florida (Sunday).
 
UAH (5-4) will look to get the Gulf South Conference season off to a good start, but in doing so they will have to do it away from Spragins Hall and against two high-quality teams.
 
Starting on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in Valdosta, Georgia, the Lady Chargers will look to avenge last season's sweep they suffered at the hands of the Blazers. Valdosta State won both meetings three sets to one.
 
The host Blazers currently sit at 6-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference. VSU lost their conference-opener last night against newly-appointed Shorter, 3-2. They are currently 4-1 at home this season.
 
VSU has a very balanced attack, as they have five players with at least 50 kills on the season. Leading the way is freshman Nikki McDaniel, who leads the team with her 95 kills.
 
UAH leads the all-time series between the two, holding a 23-12 advantage.
 
The Lady Chargers will have their hands full come Sunday afternoon, when they visit Pensacola, Florida, to take on defending GSC champions West Florida. The Argos finished a perfect 14-0 in the GSC last season, before falling to Florida Southern in the South Region Quarterfinals.
 
West Florida, currently 3-5, has played one of the toughest schedules of anyone in the conference starting off this 2012 season. The Argos have played six ranked teams out of eight total games, an astonishing stat. They also knocked off the No. 1 team in the country in Concordia-St. Paul, 3-1.
 
The Argos defeated the Lady Chargers in both meetings last season, 3-0 and 3-1. West Florida holds the all-time record, 15-7.
 
Reigning GSC Player of the Week Angela Thurmond will look to continue her dominance so far this season. Her 105 kills lead the team and are good enough for second in the GSC. Her .448 hitting percentage is tops in the league and her 25 blocks are second as well.
 
UAH will need Kelsey Williams and Stacey Sargent to be on top of their game. The two have piled up a combined 148 kills and 19 aces. Sargent is also tied for the most digs on the team with 82.
 
Freshman Kennedie Lariscy will look to continue her strong freshman campaign as well, as her 82 digs are tops as well.
 
Setters Kelly Wilson and Ashton Baker have done an outstanding job so far this season setting up the attackers in Thurmond, Williams, Sargent and Kendall Knisley. They have combined for 318 assists so far and will need to continue that success this weekend.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Chargers on Facebook (facebook.com/uahchargers) and on Twitter (@uahchargers), and supporters of the Blue and White may sign up for text and e-mail updates at uahchargers.com.

For more information contact Joey Daniels, Sports Information Coordinator, at joseph.daniels@uah.edu