Troy volleyball aces the weekend against ULM

Troy volleyball claimed a pair of home wins against ULM this past weekend, extending the win streak to four straight matches.

This is the longest winning streak in the conference. Troy is now tied with four other teams at the top of the conference with a 5-1 conference record.

“This win has put us at the top of the conference, which is a big goal for us this year,” said middle hitter Ashlynn Axtell. “Being able to stack these two wins on top of last weekend creates a lot of confidence and momentum going into the two matches next weekend.”

ULM won the first set of the weekend series, but the Trojans got back on track, winning the next six sets with 20 aces and 91 kills across the two matches, compared to the Warhawks’ 13 and 59, respectively.

“I love coming out of the weekend with a sweep,” said head coach Josh Lauer. “Our serve and pass really stabilized us. It’s always a good day to take a dub, but we have to stay hungry to get better.”

The Warhawks came out strong in the first set, jumping to an early 11-4 lead behind Clay Tatum and Aniya Hall, who combined for five kills and a block in that run. Zharia Alleyne also had a major impact, contributing to four of the team’s five blocks, including two solo blocks, which greatly affected Troy’s hitting and led to 12 attacking errors in the first set alone.

Troy kept its offensive balance in the first match, with the usual suspects, Ashlynn Axtell, Kalina Calvillo and Isa Ruether, all recording double-digit kills. Axtell continued her elite efficiency from the middle, which has her ranked second in the conference and 52nd nationally.

“Our serving was dynamite,” Lauer said. “Olivia and Kalina were otherworldly, then our float servers got in on the mix to keep the other team off balance.”

Calvillo served nine aces over the weekend, including a career-high six in the second match. Fellow junior outside hitter Olivia Kwiatkowski had six serves land in the two matches. The two are second and fourth in the conference in aces per set, with Troy ranking first in the conference and sixth nationally as a team.

Fifth-year transfer Sophie Ocampo brought veteran presence to the court for the Trojans, contributing 15 kills and seven block assists off the bench.

“Going into my fifth year, I’ve had a lot of good leadership models throughout my time as a volleyball player, and I’ve learned a lot from those girls,” Ocampo said. “They make it easy for me to lead.

“These girls give me the platform to speak freely and trust me, and I wouldn’t be in a leadership position if it wasn’t for these girls.”

Troy looks to stack more wins as the team travels to Ruston, Louisiana, to face the newest Sun Belt member, Louisiana Tech, which has struggled recently, losing its first six conference games.

The games will start at 6 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Thomas Assembly Center.