Troy University Athletics
Trojans fall, must win against FAU and get some help
11/9/2007 6:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. - The Troy Trojans must now take the old-fashioned route to get into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting next week, after falling to Florida International 34-32, 30-28, 30-11.
The Trojans must win against Florida Atlantic tomorrow afternoon, but they also need to get help from the University of New Orleans tomorrow afternoon. The Privateers must defeat Arkansas State tomorrow afternoon, or the Trojans will be left out of the tournament win or lose.
Troy battled Florida International point-for-point in the early portions of the match, especially in the first game. After falling behind by as many as five points in the first game, the Trojans battled back after a timeout called by head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick swung the momentum away from the Panthers. The Trojans reeled off 16 of the next 27 points to take a 29-28 lead late in the game, on a kill by Jean McCarthy.
Florida International tied the match at 29-29 when Ines Medved connected for one of her six kills in the match, before the Trojans took a 30-29 lead when Megan Henderson caught the FIU defense napping as she dumped a ball over the net to tie the score 30-30. The two teams traded points again, knotting the game at 31-31, before Meghan Washlow recorded a service ace to give the Trojans a 32-31 lead. Unfortunately for the Trojans, Florida International recorded the final three points of the game to claim a 34-32 lead.
The second game was much the same story, as the two teams went back and forth. The only difference between game one and game two, the Trojans were the team being chased. Troy took a lead as big as four points, before the two teams traded points when the match was tied 20-20. The two teams traded points until the Panthers took a 29-27 lead before Aubre Smith recorded a kill to pull the game within a point. Florida International won the game on a kill by Medved for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Florida International (17-7, 11-5) assured itself of the fifth seed in the upcoming conference tournament, and was led by Yarimar Rosa with a double-double. She recorded 20 kills and 10 digs, while teammate Olga Vergun recorded 13 kills.
Troy (15-17, 6-10 SBC) was led by Meghan Gilroy with 14 kills, while Washlow added 13 digs.
The Trojans now face a must-win against Florida Atlantic (10-18, 3-13 SBC) Saturday afternoon at 1 pm. The match takes place at Trojan Arena and admission is free. The fans that show up for the final match of the season will have an opportunity to receive a Trojans volleyball and/or t-shirt at the conclusion of game two.
