Volleyball earns series split with Arkansas State

The Troy volleyball team split their series against Arkansas State inside Trojan Arena last week. The Trojans are 5-13 overall and 3-7 in conference play but are battling Louisiana for the last spot in the 10-team Sun Belt Conference tournament. 

Troy secured the first match on Thursday with the help of three Trojans recording double-doubles for the first time this season. Amiah Butler posted 18 kills and 10 digs, Jordan Sinness had 11 digs and 23 assist, and Madison Marx finished with 11 digs and 22 assists.

This match was the second of the season where Sinness and Marx both recorded double doubles in the same match.  

Another difference maker for the Trojans was Kalina Calvillo’s 10 aces, as well as timely service runs. Troy ended both the third and fourth sets with an ace.  

"I thought serving was the difference tonight,” said head coach Josh Lauer. “We served really tough and were great down the stretch. 

“There were some unsung heroes tonight, including Jaci Mesa, who played really solid tonight. Because she played so solid, Arkansas State stayed away from her. I was a little emotional after the game -- that was a really hard-fought victory for our team, and we really needed that one."  

The Trojans came out swinging in set one with only three errors, hitting an explosive .447. The Red Wolves stayed close throughout the set, with 13 ties and five lead changes, but a kill from Calvillo secured the set for the Trojans 1-0 lead. Amiah Butler hit .545 and recorded six kills in the set.  

Set two was claimed early on by the Red Wolves, as the Trojans committed seven errors to hit .000 in the set. Arkansas State took the lead 23-6 late in the set to eventually secure the tie 1-1.  

The Trojans put up a fight in the third, with a hotly contested set coming down to a 24-24 tie. Troy managed back-to-back points credited to Calvillo to win the set, as she recorded a kill followed by an ace to give Troy a 2-1 lead.  

The fourth set sealed the win for the Trojans, with Sinness assisting on seven kills and Olivia Kwiatkowski recording two solo blocks. Calvillo finished the set, and the match, with another ace to hand the Trojans the win. 

The Trojans could not carry the momentum going into Friday’s match as they fell in four sets after not being able to find their offensive rhythm.  

Troy finished the match hitting .097 and Calvillo was the only Trojan to record double-digit kills, while Butler’s streak of 10-plus kills ended as she finished with eight on the night.  

"It wasn't our night tonight,” said Lauer. “We really struggled to find some consistency and momentum.  

“Kudos to Arkansas State; they put some pressure on us, and we had a tough time getting going after that first set. It was a good team out there tonight, but we'll take a weekend split and get ready for next week."  

Arkansas State hit a .277 percentage and out-blocked the Trojans 14-3 as their defensive effort helped seal the win.  

Troy won the opening set again after trailing early. However, the Trojans couldn’t get back on top after the first set as the Red Wolves won the next three straight sets for the win. 

The Trojans head to Monroe, Louisianna, for a two-match series on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. to continue conference play.