Troy University Athletics
Trojans win, now must wait
11/10/2007 6:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. - And the waiting game begins for the Troy University Trojans volleyball team.
After dispatching of Florida Atlantic in three games (30-25, 30-23, 30-28), the Trojans must now wait to hear the result of the New Orleans-Arkansas State match on Sunday afternoon to see whether they get into the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament in Denver next week. In order for the Trojans to qualify, they must get a New Orleans victory over the Indians.
“It is going to be really hard to wait until noon tomorrow,” Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “We had a chance earlier in the year to take the doubt out of it, and we didn't do it. I guess this is our punishment. Right now we are in eighth place, and we will see if stay there tomorrow.”
Troy (16-17, 7-10 SBC) rode the arm of Jean McCarthy to victory in game one, as she recorded eight kills and the Trojans trailed only twice in the first game. Trailing by as many as three points, at 14-11, the Trojans fought back and took a 19-18 lead on a Megan Henderson kill and never trailed from the point on. The Trojans outscored Florida Atlantic 11-7 in the remainder of the game to record the game one win.
The Trojans easily won game two behind the play of Carla Rasuck. Troy trailed only twice in the second game, with the biggest deficit being at 22-20. From the two-point deficit, the Trojans took control of the game and the match. Following a pair of errors by the Owls, the senior Rasuck recorded back-to-back service aces to give the Trojans a 24-22 lead late in the game. The Trojans recorded nine consecutive points with Rasuck serving, and the senior playing her last home match, narrowly missed closing out the second game when Florida Atlantic's attack went short. The Trojans did, however, close out the match when Meghan Gilroy recorded a kill for the 30-23 victory in game two.
“The play of Carla in that situation was huge,” Kirkpatrick said. “You need seniors to step in spots like that, and she stepped up big for us in that situation.”
The third and final game was much the same story as the first two, although Florida Atlantic held their last lead of the match at 12-11. Following an error by the Owls, the Trojans' McCarthy struck for another kill in the match, giving Troy the lead for good at 13-12. The Trojans extended the lead to as many as seven points in the final game, with the highlight of the match bringing the crowd to its feet and setting the bench into a frenzy. Henderson, known for catching the defensive off-guard with a dink over the net, beat the Owls to the punch with a thunderous spike that gave the Trojans a five-point lead late in the match. After a Florida Atlantic timeout with the score at 29-26, the Trojans claimed victory on a service error by the Owls.
“We didn't come out to start the match with focus and energy we needed,” Kirkpatrick said. “Some of it was in part due to senior night and possibly being our last match with Carla on the team. We got it together and made some plays when we needed to late in the match.”
McCarthy led the Trojans with a game-high 21 kills and 14 digs, while Gilroy and Smith each added 11 kills. Emily Strader, after missing last night's match, returned with 14 digs, while Henderson added 50 assists.
Katie Arvidson led Florida Atlantic (10-19, 3-14 SBC) with 11 kills, while Krystena Castro added 10 kills.
Now the team must sit and wait until tomorrow afternoon when New Orleans and Arkansas State hook up in the final regular season match of the season. If UNO wins, then Troy advances to the Sun Belt Conference as the eighth seed and will face top-seeded Middle Tennessee in the opener. If Arkansas State wins, then the Trojans season ends.
After dispatching of Florida Atlantic in three games (30-25, 30-23, 30-28), the Trojans must now wait to hear the result of the New Orleans-Arkansas State match on Sunday afternoon to see whether they get into the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament in Denver next week. In order for the Trojans to qualify, they must get a New Orleans victory over the Indians.
“It is going to be really hard to wait until noon tomorrow,” Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “We had a chance earlier in the year to take the doubt out of it, and we didn't do it. I guess this is our punishment. Right now we are in eighth place, and we will see if stay there tomorrow.”
Troy (16-17, 7-10 SBC) rode the arm of Jean McCarthy to victory in game one, as she recorded eight kills and the Trojans trailed only twice in the first game. Trailing by as many as three points, at 14-11, the Trojans fought back and took a 19-18 lead on a Megan Henderson kill and never trailed from the point on. The Trojans outscored Florida Atlantic 11-7 in the remainder of the game to record the game one win.
The Trojans easily won game two behind the play of Carla Rasuck. Troy trailed only twice in the second game, with the biggest deficit being at 22-20. From the two-point deficit, the Trojans took control of the game and the match. Following a pair of errors by the Owls, the senior Rasuck recorded back-to-back service aces to give the Trojans a 24-22 lead late in the game. The Trojans recorded nine consecutive points with Rasuck serving, and the senior playing her last home match, narrowly missed closing out the second game when Florida Atlantic's attack went short. The Trojans did, however, close out the match when Meghan Gilroy recorded a kill for the 30-23 victory in game two.
“The play of Carla in that situation was huge,” Kirkpatrick said. “You need seniors to step in spots like that, and she stepped up big for us in that situation.”
The third and final game was much the same story as the first two, although Florida Atlantic held their last lead of the match at 12-11. Following an error by the Owls, the Trojans' McCarthy struck for another kill in the match, giving Troy the lead for good at 13-12. The Trojans extended the lead to as many as seven points in the final game, with the highlight of the match bringing the crowd to its feet and setting the bench into a frenzy. Henderson, known for catching the defensive off-guard with a dink over the net, beat the Owls to the punch with a thunderous spike that gave the Trojans a five-point lead late in the match. After a Florida Atlantic timeout with the score at 29-26, the Trojans claimed victory on a service error by the Owls.
“We didn't come out to start the match with focus and energy we needed,” Kirkpatrick said. “Some of it was in part due to senior night and possibly being our last match with Carla on the team. We got it together and made some plays when we needed to late in the match.”
McCarthy led the Trojans with a game-high 21 kills and 14 digs, while Gilroy and Smith each added 11 kills. Emily Strader, after missing last night's match, returned with 14 digs, while Henderson added 50 assists.
Katie Arvidson led Florida Atlantic (10-19, 3-14 SBC) with 11 kills, while Krystena Castro added 10 kills.
Now the team must sit and wait until tomorrow afternoon when New Orleans and Arkansas State hook up in the final regular season match of the season. If UNO wins, then Troy advances to the Sun Belt Conference as the eighth seed and will face top-seeded Middle Tennessee in the opener. If Arkansas State wins, then the Trojans season ends.
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