The Trojan volleyball team traveled to Tuscaloosa last weekend, winning one of three non-conference matchups against a trio of capable teams.
Hosted by Alabama, the Alabama Crimson and White Tournament saw Troy defeat Southern 3-0 on Friday; a victory bookended by 3-0 losses to Murray State and Alabama. This was the final tournament for the Trojans before they start conference play.
Troy opened its tournament run against Murray State in the first match of a double header on Friday.
It was a relatively clean match for the Trojans, only committing 16 errors overall. The only problem Troy faced was putting up points as they were outscored 48-56, due in part to a .222 hitting percentage.
Quick starts by Murray State in the first and second sets helped it establish a two-set lead. Troy seemed to dominate the beginning of the third set, but Murray State was able to grind out a 25-23 win as well as the sweep. In an overall solid effort, Troy lost 3-0 despite looking good on paper. Three Trojans had seven kills in the match, along with seven total team blocks.
Troy finished its Friday competition playing against Southern, a team still looking for its first win through eight games.
Despite the record of Southern, the Jaguars kept it close. The two teams went back and forth in the first set before Troy won 27-25.
In the second set, Southern once again played well. It was another back-and-forth affair before senior Lauren Long rounded out the set with back-to-back kills to win 25-23.
Southern fell apart in the third set while Troy was able to create some distance. The Trojans closed the set out 25-22. Errors hurt the Trojans, however, as they committed 26 compared to just 16 by Southern. Although the high amount of mistakes cost Troy some easy points, Southern managed to hit only .083 percent from the floor, earning itself its eighth loss.
Savannah Moore dominated on defense by recording five out of the 11 team blocks. Long and Jenni Young combined for 22 kills, while Logan Page contributed eight of her own.
The weekend finale showcased Troy against host Alabama in a Saturday game broadcast on SEC Network Plus.
Alabama’s offense looked crisp, dominating Troy late in the first set to win 25-15.
Troy came out looking competitive in the second set, but another late-set run helped the Tide win 25-14. The third set was more competitive as the Trojans tried to force the fourth set, and it looked as if Troy would win the third. Alabama had other thoughts, however, and pushed forward for a 25-22 win in the final set.
Troy and Alabama looked even in the stats department. Troy cut down on errors in this match, and the only problem carried over from the first two games was the hitting percentage. A .167 hitting percentage was the overall team tally for the day.
Despite the low percentage, there were many positive takeaways from the weekend. Page is third in the Sun Belt Conference in hitting percentage with a .376 percent, while Long leads her team in kills. Belle Waldrop also had a good game, registering 10 kills and a block.
The Trojans will take the court next on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to face UT-Arlington. This will be the start to an eight-game stretch of conference play for the Trojans.
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