Wally Pendergrass
Staff Writer
The Trojan volleyball team lost two matches in the state of Arkansas over the weekend, and has now lost 14 matches in a row.
The Trojans took on the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Friday, Oct. 31, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Troy got off to a slow start, losing the first two sets 25-19 and 25-16, respectively.
The Trojans gave the Red Wolves a scare in the third set on Halloween night, but Arkansas State eventually took the set 25-21, and the match 3-0.
Junior middle hitter Darby Griff led the Trojans with 11 kills and an attack percentage of .688. The highest attack percentage after Griff was sophomore outsider hitter Symone Shaw’s .160, and the team had an attack percentage of only .165.
Freshman setter Reina Terry had 29 assists, and junior libero Ali Dowdall again led the Trojan defense with 14 digs.
Troy then faced Sun Belt Conference leader UALR in Little Rock, Arkansas. While the Troy Trojans are on a 14-match losing streak, the UALR Trojans extended their winning streak to 16 matches with the win over Troy.
Troy was unable to get much going against UALR, and as a result went down in three straight sets, 25-19, 25-14 and 25-18.
The Trojans once again had a very low attack percentage for the match, hitting only .039 overall, and Troy had a -.150 attack percentage for the second set.
For only the third time all season, no Troy player had double-digit kills. Senior outside hitter Marija Zelenovic led Troy with six kills.
Terry again led the team with 21 assists, and Dowdall led the team with 16 digs. No other Troy player had double-digit digs in the match.
The Troy Trojans have lost their last three matches 3-0 and haven’t won a set since Oct. 19.
In order to place high enough to make the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Trojans must win their five remaining matches and UL Lafayette and South Alabama must lose all its remaining matches.
The Trojans play their last two home matches of the season this weekend. Troy will host UL Monroe on Friday, Nov. 7, and UL Lafayette on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Trojan Arena.
