Trojan volleyball drops fifth straight

The Trojan volleyball team had an unfortunate weekend at the Crimson-White tournament, finishing with a loss to host Alabama, as well as losses to Virginia and Saint Louis.

Playing the Crimson Tide first on Friday, Sept. 11, Troy (5-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) started the tournament with a loss and was unable to gain momentum back in the following matches. Alabama (4-6, 0-0 SEC) beat the Trojans in three straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-22).

With 19 errors throughout the match and 29 kills to Alabama’s 37, the Trojans were left with a .111 attack percentage in comparison to Alabama’s .244.

Senior middle hitter Darby Griff and  junior middle hitter Sara Landis both hit a team high percentage of .417, and Griff led the team with 7 kills.

Troy returned to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, and started its day against Virginia (5-3, 0-0 ACC), but again fell short due to too many errors. The result was another Trojan defeat by a score of 4-1.

After losing the first two sets, Troy came back in the third. It was the high point for the Trojans, who came back to win a tight set 30-28. Despite the comeback, they were not able to push out another win for the fourth losing the set 25-21 and the match 4-1.

Senior outside hitter Blaire Winston led the team’s hits with 22 kills, and junior outside hitter Symone Shaw came next with nine. Winston and Landis were neck and neck by percentage, with Winston’s .292 and Landis’ .290, but it wasn’t enough to help the team’s percentage of .191 and pull out a win.

Troy matched up with Saint Louis in its last game of the tournament, but it too ended in defeat. The Trojans lost three straight sets (25-10, 25-19, and 25-16) to the Billikens (6-5, 0-0 Atlantic Ten), who were undefeated in the tournament.

Troy was swamped with its 23 errors and 24 kills, giving it only a .011 attack percentage over the entire match. Winston had a match high with nine kills.

The Trojans failed to snap the losing streak when they returned to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 15. They played Mercer and lost once again 3-1.

Although it was a loss, Troy  still played the Bears (2-7, 0-0 Southern) to a tight game, this time coming back in the second set, after a loss in the first. It fell short in the last two sets.

Winston again hit a team-high of 20 kills, with Shaw and Landis each recording 10.

Senior defensive specialist Ali  Dowdall also helped out defense with 24 digs. The Trojans held a .232 attack percentage, close to the Bears’ .231.

The Trojans return to the court Friday, Sept. 18, to play Appalachian State at Trojan Arena. Start time is set for 6 p.m.