Troy University Athletics
Gilroy Leads Trojans Over ULL
10/11/2008 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
LAFAYETTE, La. - Junior Meghan Gilroy recorded 16 kills and Kerry Heinz posted a double-double, leading the Troy Trojans to a 3-2 Sun Belt Conference victory over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday night.
The junior was the lone player in double figures in kills for the Trojans, but it was enough to lead Troy to a 25-23, 25-20, 28-30, 11-25, 15-8 victory. The second win in as many matches for Troy (11-11, 2-5 Sun Belt) on their four-match winning streak.
In the opening set of the match, the Trojans trailed the entire set until an attack error by Elizabeth Inman allowed Troy to tie the score at 22-all. Another attack error by Inman gave the Trojans their first lead of the set at 23-22, and the lead was extended to 24-22 on a kill from freshman Brittany McClelland. Louisiana-Lafayette was able to hold off one set point, but the Trojans claimed the set on a Ragin' Cajun service error to take a 1-0 overall lead.
In the second set, the teams traded points until Troy took a 20-19 lead late on a Gilroy kill. The lead was pushed to 21-19 on a service ace from Vicky Rogoschewsky, before Louisiana-Lafayette trimmed the deficit to 21-20 on a kill from Caroline Dufrene. The Trojans pushed the lead back to two at 22-20 on another kill from Gilroy before the Trojans scored the final three points of the set, culminating with a Gilroy service ace for a 2-0 overall lead heading into intermission.
Following the halftime break, the Trojans ran out to a five-point lead in the third set before Louisiana-Lafayette charged back into the contest. The Ragin' Cajuns tied the score at 22-all late in the set. Following a pair of service errors by each team, a kill from Gilroy gave Troy a match point at 24-23. However, Louisiana-Lafayette was able to hold off the point with a kill from Rachel Mauti, before the two teams traded points until ULL had a match point at 26-25. A kill from senior Aubre Smith tied the set at 26-all and the Trojans battled three other times to keep Louisiana-Lafayette from winning the third set. However, the Ragin' Cajuns won the final two points of the set and won the fourth set to tie the overall score at 2-all.
The fifth set saw the Trojans jump to an early 2-1 lead and never look back in the deciding set. With the lead at 11-6, Louisiana-Lafayette closed the gap to 11-8 but the Trojans had an answer. A block from Smith pushed the lead to 12-8, followed by an attack error from Tracie Knowlton and a kill from Heinz and the Trojans had a match point at 14-8. The match was won on a block from McClelland on a attack from Inman, giving the Trojans their second consecutive road victory.
Heinz chipped in with nine kills and 12 digs for the Trojans, while sophomore Megan Henderson added 37 assists and a season-high 18 digs. Senior Megan Washlow added 15 digs, while fellow senior Jean McCarthy added 12 digs in the victory.
Troy concludes their four-match road trip against the University of New Orleans tomorrow afternoon at 12 noon.
