Trojans rally to stun Bears in straight sets – Volleyball News
The Troy University volleyball team bagged a historic 600th win on Tuesday, September 20. The Trojans achieved the milestone by defeating the Mercer University Bears in straight sets of 25-23, 25-16, 25-17. The Sartain Hall in Troy, Alabama provided
the backdrop for the momentous game as the Trojans touched a landmark. The Bears dropped the non-conference match and fell to 4-9, while winning squad improved to 10-4 in the season.
Jennifer Katona of the Bears gave it all but her effort could not stop Trojans from claiming the match. Bears’ setters, Madeline Dolny and Monica Sanchez, put up a good effort and helped the team with 31 assists. Sanchez also recorded six digs. Freshman
Caroline Carlton built up the best hitting percentage for Mercer (.278). She collected seven points on 18 attack attempts.
Breanna Cullity of Troy was named the top-scorer of the match as she added 13 points.
The opening set of the match was full of action as both teams played with good momentum and traded leads four times. The score shifted up with a close gap and first set saw 9 ties. After the tie of scores at 23-all, the fans moved back-and-forth in their
seats at every attack attempt. Brittany McClelland and Kayla Pickart got the perfect kills to close first set in the favour of Troy team and clinched 25-23 success.
The tussle continued in the second set but gradually the Trojans took over the control of the game. They put pressure on the rival side and scored consecutive points. The hosts played fast and breezed past the Bears in the second set, 25-16.
After taking two sets in a row, Troy enjoyed good rhythm in their play. Meanwhile, the Bears struggled to come back into the game as they attacked from different angles. They managed to create a tie at 6-6 but the Trojans rattled off a 6-0 run to keep the
lead. The home team led the score for remainder of set and declared match victory by winning third set with 8 points, 25-17.
The Head Coach of Trojans, Sonny Kirkpatrick, expressed his delight with the victory as he stated: “We played well tonight. We do need to come out more focused on the match. We weren't ready to start, but once we got going we did a nice job of executing
what we've worked on in practice.”
Speaking of the 600th win in the history of program, he said: “I'm proud of the team for being part of history tonight with the 600th win. We're looking forward to continuing this through conference play.”
The Trojans will return to action this coming Friday when they will host the University of Louisiana, ULM Hawks. The Bears, on the other hand, will try to seize their chances against Lipscomb Bisons on Saturday
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