Volleyball splits weekend

Troy volleyball opened conference play at home this past weekend with a razor-tight series against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, with five of the nine sets decided by three points or less. The Trojans prevailed in the first match, 3-1, but fell in five in the second.

“Knockdown, drag-out is what we expected, and that’s what we got,” said head coach Josh Lauer.

The star outside hitters were on display Friday, with Troy’s Kalina Calvillo and Louisiana’s Lolo Lambert leading their teams in kills with 19 and 22, respectively. This marks a season high for Calvillo, and this is the second time Lambert, the former Arkansas Razorback, has notched over 20 kills in a match this season.

“Everyone’s going to plan for Kalina, so handling that pressure and expectation is not easy,” Lauer said. “She’s doing a great job, and she’s humble about it and loves her teammates.”

The Trojans won the first set by five points, led by Calvillo's seven kills, but Louisiana came back quickly, winning the second set handily behind five total team blocks. The next two sets would be decided by two points in favor of the Trojans.

Third-year defensive specialist Kayla Baetzel came in for the third and fourth sets at libero and led the team in digs with 14, a career high, despite playing only two of the four sets.

“Kayla Baetzel came off the bench, bringing amazing energy and changing the course of the match with her defensive tenacity,” Lauer said.

Josie Hensley also set a career high with 21 assists that night but eclipsed it the next match with 23 while also making her first career start in the second set. The second-year setter delivered back-to-back assists to Calvillo in the fourth set to seal the deal for the Trojans in the weekend's first match.

“Hensley delivered some great balls that allowed our attackers to take big time swings and terminate,” Lauer said. ‘I’m really proud of her and how she handled the pressure and stress today.”

Saturday’s match saw the Ragin’ Cajuns burst onto the scene, stealing the first two sets on the road, despite Lambert, the team leader in kills, being sidelined. Marlee Ervin, Grace Sweeney and Sarah Schnell stepped up, combining for 40 kills in the match after only totaling 18 the day before.

Troy's middles, Ashlynn Axtell and Sophie Ocampo, came alive in the second match, each scoring nine kills hyper-efficiently and recording six total blocks. This match marked Troy’s season-high block total as a team, as well as the highest for both Axtell and Ocampo.

After a narrow third-set win, Troy ran away in the fourth on a 10-point margin, with everything clicking. However, momentum shifted quickly as the Trojans gave the Ragin’ Cajuns eight of the 15 points they needed to win the fifth set and the match on attacking and serving errors.

The start of conference play always seemingly has different energy, and Trojan Arena felt it. However, third-year player and team leader Kalina Calvillo has noticed a different feeling about this Troy team, too.

“The energy is so intense right now,” Calvillo said. “I don’t think it’s ever felt this way, honestly.”

With a steady schedule of conference play, the Trojans will now head to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to play Southern Miss, who are 2-0 in the Sun Belt. They will play this Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.