Hanna Cooper
Staff Writer
After a pair of conference losses in Arkansas, Troy volleyball traveled back home to take on Georgia State and Georgia Southern in the conference home openers.
In Friday night’s matchup, Troy lost a tight five-set match to the Georgia State Panthers.
Troy jumped out to a hot start, sweeping the first match 25-12. The second match was much closer; however, the Trojans were still able to come out on top. The teams went point-for-point with each other until Troy was able to string along a four-point streak. The second set was capped off by an attack error by Georgia State and a kill by Cheyenne Hayes. After the 26-24 win in the second set, it seemed as if Troy was headed for a sweep.
The Panthers came back strong in the third and fourth sets. Troy went up in the third set 10-4, but Georgia State was able to claw back and tie it at 18. After exchanging a few points, the Panthers closed out the third set with a four-point streak. In the fourth set, the Panthers jumped out with an early 9-3 advantage. Troy was able to close in the score by a few points, but they still could not put it away. The Trojans dropped the fourth set 25-20 which set the stage for the deciding set.
The Panthers would put up a seven-point run to secure the final set 15-6.
After taking a day break for rest and Troy football, the team took on the Georgia Southern Eagles in a Sunday afternoon match.
In both the first and second set, the Eagles jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead over the Trojans. The ladies were able to fight back in the first, tying the game at 19. Multiple kills by Jenni Young and a kill by Cheyenne Hayes allowed the Trojans take the first set 25-21.
However, the second-set deficit would not follow the same pattern as Georgia Southern continued their scoring streak throughout the set with a convincing 25-11 win.
The third set kept fans on the edge of their seats with 10 ties and 12 lead changes. Troy would drop the heartbreaking set 28-26. The momentum from the third set would carry the Eagles through the fourth set allowing them to take the final set 25-17.
Despite the hard losses, the streak continues for Cheyenne Hayes. In both matches, Hayes recorded double- digit kills to bring her tally up to 15 straight games.
Sun Belt assists leader Amara Anderson recorded two more double-doubles this weekend. Anderson led the conference and ranked eighth nationally in assists entering the weekend.
The Trojans begin a four-game road stretch in conference play at Louisiana and ULM next Friday and Saturday.
