Volleyball splits week of matches

The Troy volleyball team comes to 2-4 on the season as they swept Mercer and fell in three sets to Kennesaw State last week. The Trojans claimed their second win of the season in Trojan Arena last Wednesday against Mercer and were upended by Kennesaw State inside VyStar Arena last Sunday.  

The Trojans were aggressive against Mercer, finishing with 44 kills at a .250 hitting percentage and logged nine aces. Amiah Butler dominated yet another match with 18 kills and 15 digs to give her Troy’s first double-double of the season and the fourth of her career.  

Madison Marx continued her phenomenal performances with 15 assists, eight digs, and four aces to contribute to the win. Jordan Sinness brought on success with 17 assists and eight digs.  

"Mercer hung around and definitely gave us some fight there at the end, but I was super proud of our servers,” said head coach Josh Lauer. “Sydney Austin got us back in that match and Sara Bates closed the door.  

“We've been very fortunate to have some really aggressive services through clutch times throughout the season. The game changing service runs were a big highlight tonight and really helped us through a couple difficult stretches." 

Set one was a comfortable win, as Butler led the match with four kills early on and Troy pulled away halfway through the set to take it 25-16. 

The Trojans leapt out to a 7-2 lead in set two after strong serving from Marx and Bates. The Bears came within two points thanks to Sophia Henry’s four kills, but the Trojans ultimately took the set 25-19. 

After the Trojans took the first two sets quickly, they struggled to keep the momentum going in the third set. A timeout as the Trojans were trailing 17-12 helped Lauer get the team back on track.  

“I was actually pretty calm,” Lauer said. “We were getting frantic, and I told them to relax but stay competitive.  

“We were hitting balls out of bounds, we got aced, and we just needed to slow the game down and get back to basics and fundamentals. I think we came back and Kalina got a kill right after that.” 

Set three was a close fight, with the two teams’ hitting percentage separated by just .016. Mercer had a big lead of 17-12 in the set, but the Trojans rode an 8-0 scoring run with Sydney Austin behind the line to take the lead. The Trojans took the set and match with a service error from Mercer.  

The Trojans then took to the road to take on Kennesaw State on Sunday afternoon.  

Despite the 3-0 loss, Butler and Kalina Calvillo finished with 12 kills each, with Butler having a .345 hitting percentage.  

Olivia Kwiatkowski and Butler led the fiery first set with six kills apiece, helping the Trojans record their best hitting percentage of the season at .536 in the first set, with the previous high at .423 against Jackson State. Butler now has 1,101 career kills, which puts her at 10^th on Troy’s all-time list.  

Although the Trojans hit well in set one, they dropped the set 25-22 and lost sets two and three by just two points apiece. 

Although the outcome wasn’t what the Trojans wanted, Lauer said these matches are what creates better players. 

"It was a really competitive match today and I’m really proud of the way the team fought and competed,” Lauer said. “You know, in these tough losses, you build a lot of character. 

“We need to get back in the gym and continue to fight to be more consistently competitive before another challenging weekend at Ohio State."  

The Trojans travel to Columbus, Ohio, for two weekend matches to take on Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. and Ohio State on Sunday, Sept. 21 and 12 p.m.