Daniel Hunt
Staff Writer
The Trojan volleyball team returned home for the first two of a four-match home stretch to take on the University of Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana, but lost 3-2 and 3-1, respectively.
Following the losses, the Trojans are now fourth in the Sun Belt’s East Division, behind Coastal Carolina, South Alabama and Appalachian State.
On Friday, Troy was the favorite on its home court, but gave up two straight sets on its way to a loss.
The Warhawks, who came into the game with no conference wins, were in the midst of a 13-game losing streak. ULM had not won a set in four consecutive matches, including its senior day against Texas Arlington, which was six days prior.
Despite the loss, the Trojans jumped out in front in the first set. The Warhawks hit a slump early on, allowing Troy to hit 0.310 percent from the floor with 12 kills.
Thanks to a strong hitting percentage by the Trojans and nine ULM errors in the set, the home team won the set 25-12.
What looked like a potential blowout quickly turned into a tough match for the Trojans. ULM bounced back in the next two sets, winning both.
Two three-point runs with the score tied at 13 swung the second set in favor of the Warhawks. Due to this, ULM jumped ahead by eight points late in the set. After that, the Trojans forced five consecutive match points, but it wasn’t enough to keep ULM from taking the set 25-20.
ULM continued to look composed moving into the next set, using a late run to again hold off the Trojans. With the two sides tied at 18, ULM went on a 6-2 run to win only its second set in five matches by a score of 25-22.
The fourth set continued to be an uphill battle for the Trojans, but they forced a fifth set. Thanks to an 8-2 run, the Trojans were able to overcome an early three-point deficit to take a 15-12 lead.
With the score at 17-13, ULM clawed back to tie things up at 23. A clutch kill by Jenni Young, who had a career-high 18 kills, set up Cheyenne Hayes for the set winner. Troy won 25-23.
Troy started out 3-0 in the final set but could not finish ULM off. The Warhawks defeated the Trojans 15-9 to pick up their first conference win of the season.
Young had 18 kills and two blocks, but she was the only Trojan with double-digit kills.
As in much of the season, Troy struggled with errors, committing 33 compared to just 22 by ULM.
The team did not have much time to think about the loss because Louisiana was up next on Saturday.
The first set was tough for Troy as the Ragin’ Cajuns dominated 25-16. However, Troy answered back in the second set with one of its best performances of the season in a 25-13 victory.
The Trojans had 19 kills and hit 0.333 percent from the floor, allowing Louisiana only six kills.
Following a Trojan loss in the third set, the Trojans needed a victory in the fourth set to force a fifth. Troy recorded 15 kills to Louisiana’s 11, but 10 errors and a low hitting percentage of 0.108 gave the road team a 3-1 win.
The Trojans committed 33 errors, but had 61 kills compared to just 37 by Louisiana. Sophomore Logan Page and Belle Waldrop led the way with 14 kills each. Four Trojans contributed 10 or more kills.
Troy will look to bounce back when it takes on Appalachian State this Friday at 6:30 p.m. ESPN3 will broadcast the match from Trojan Arena.
