The Troy volleyball team extended its current losing streak to seven after falling 2-3 at Georgia State on Friday, Sept. 30, and to Georgia Southern 0-3 the next day.
The Trojans (6-13, 0-4 Sun Belt) haven’t won a match since Sept. 10,* when they defeated Savannah State.
Statistically, Troy played a very even match against the Panthers (6-9, 2-2 Sun Belt), recording 43 kills to Georgia State’s 44 and digging 63 hits to Georgia State’s 59. The home team always held the slight advantage, however, claiming the game 2-3 and stealing the Trojans’ elusive first conference victory.
Georgia State cruised to a 25-13 win in the first set, 25-10 in the third and 15-11 in the fifth and final set. On the other hand, the sets that Troy won were much closer, with a 25-23 in both the second and fourth sets.
Redshirt-freshman middle hitter Logan Page had a career-high evening for the Trojans, posting 12 digs, two blocks and two kills. She was supported by senior outside hitter Symone Shaw, who had eight digs and three kills.
The Trojan defense had no answer for Georgia State for the majority of the game as two Panthers recorded double-digit kills. The hit percentage battle was also a weak point for Troy, falling behind Georgia State’s .146 percentage with a -.013 percentage of its own.
“We changed a lot this week in practice, and I’m really proud of the way our freshmen came in and gave us a spark,” Head Coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “Offensively we have to be much better, and we’ll get to work tomorrow.”
Troy tried to maintain some of its momentum into another tough road contest against Georgia Southern, but it was met with the same result as many of its other matches this season.
The Eagles (10-9, 3-1 Sun Belt) took the game in three straight sets 25-18, 25-13 and 25-16.
In the first set, freshman middle hitter Savannah Moore and senior middle hitter Leah Causey each had four kills to keep things close, but it wasn’t enough to help the Trojans overcome a .068 total hit percentage in the match.
Senior setter Katie Bange darkened the stat sheet for Georgia Southern at home, putting up 12 kills, 14 assists, six digs and two blocks.
“I’m really proud of our team this weekend,” Kirkpatrick said. “We competed well, and we had a lot of young players step up.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting ready for this week’s matches.”
The Trojans faced SEC opponent Tennessee on Wednesday, Oct. 5, in Trojan Arena, losing in three straight sets. For full coverage of the game, see tropnews.com.
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