Volleyball earns historic win over Texas State

Troy volleyball split a two-match series against Texas State in their Sun Belt Conference home opener inside Trojan Arena last week. The Trojans faced the Bobcats Thursday and Friday night.  

Troy defeated Texas State for the first time in program history on Friday night --  the Trojans were previously 0-21 against the Bobcats. 

Thursday night’s match ended in four sets when Texas State broke a tie with two straight points to seal the victory.  

Head coach Josh Lauer said the team will carry the competitiveness they showed on Thursday into Friday’s match against the reigning conference champions. 

"Tonight was a battle, a great Sun Belt competitive match between two teams who were both working really hard,” Lauer said. “That's a really strong Texas State team, and I thought we went pound for pound with them.  

“We're looking forward to tomorrow night." 

Amiah Butler led the Trojans again with 17 kills and recording her 11th straight match with double-digit kills. Sophomore Kalina Calvillo was close behind with 14 kills and secured two aces. The Trojan defense was led by Ashlynn Axtell, who recorded six blocks.  

The Bobcats were led by Samantha Wunsch and Nina Moorer, who had 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Anna Blaine finished with 41 assists for the Bobcats to help take the match offensively.  

The Trojans had a strong start on offense, hitting .357 and taking an 18-14 lead to win the first set. Set two started with a 4-0 lead from the Trojans, featuring another high hitting percentage.  

The Bobcats took the set, with four aces setting them apart. Troy battled in a back-and-forth set three with Calvillo hitting .500, but the Bobcats put up five blocks to give Texas State the 2-1 lead.  

Defense was the difference in the fourth set. With both teams having low hitting percentages, the Bobcats’ 10 blocks allowed them to win the match.  

Friday night was a different story for the Trojans as they defeated the Bobcats for the first time in program history. The five-set match gave the Trojans their first Sun Belt victory of the season.  

Butler finished two kills short of her career high with 22 on a .312 hitting percentage. Butler added eight digs and three assists to lead the Trojans through the match. Jordan Sinness recorded her first double-double of the season with 23 assists and 11 digs.  

Troy came out on fire in set one, hitting its second best this season at a .448 hitting percentage. Kalina Calvillo recorded five kills in the set on a .667 hitting percentage to help the Trojans start the match 1-0.  

The Trojans claimed set two after taking their first lead at 15-14 and closing the set on a 10-4 run. Butler logged six of her 22 kills in the set with a .556 hitting clip. Sinness and Madison Marx added a total of 13 assists in the set to push the Trojans to a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Sets three and four went to the Bobcats after they gained a 15-8 lead in the third and extended it to win the set by 11 points. The fourth set featured seven ties and five lead changes, with Texas State overpowering the Trojans to tie the match 2-2. 

Both teams traded points early in the fifth set, but the Trojans took the match after a 6-2 run was powered by Butler’s five kills in the last moments of the match.  

Lauer spoke on the magnitude of the win and what it meant for the program and this team. 

"Texas State is a great historic winning program,” Lauer said. “For us tonight, I think the difference was we were really good from the service line, and our players did a really good job of being aggressive in the right spaces.  

“We also didn't let emotion drive but allowed it to create momentum for us."  

Troy volleyball is back home again Friday Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. to take on Georgia Southern.