Troy University Athletics
Troy Falls To Denver 3-1
10/24/2008 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
DENVER - Despite Meghan Gilroy recording a team-high 17 kills, the Troy Trojans fell to Denver 3-1 at Hamilton Gymnasium in Sun Belt Conference action Friday night.
The Trojans battled Denver step-for-step in the opening set before falling 25-23, 13-25, 16-25, 16-25 on the road. Gilroy finished the night hitting .387 on the night with 31 attack opportunities.
The Trojans came out with something to prove in the opening set on the road in the mile-high city and did just that to one of the West Division's favorites. The two teams traded points to even the match at 10-all, but a kill from Aubre Smith put the Trojans ahead 11-10 and started a 4-0 run that propelled Troy to a four-point advantage in the opening set. The Trojans took a 12-10 lead on a block from Smith and Gilory and then added a pair of points off service from Emily Strader - one of which included a service ace.
After Denver (18-4, 7-2 Sun Belt) rallied and tied the match at 17-all, Troy (12-14, 3-8 Sun Belt) went on a 3-0 run that included points from Laura Mackley off a kill, an attack error by Denver and a service ace from senior Meghan Washlow. Leading 20-17, Troy saw Denver climb back into the match at 21-20 before reeling off a pair of kills from Smith for a 23-21 lead. The Pioneers closed the gap to 23-22 on a kill from Emmy Davidsmeyer, before Troy earned a set point on a kill from Gilroy. Leading 24-22, Troy gave up a point on an attack error by Gilroy prompting a timeout by Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick. Following the timeout, Gilroy took a pass from sophomore Megan Henderson and finished off the first set for the Trojans.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, Denver flexed their muscles in the second set to even the match at 1-1 heading into the locker room with a 25-13 second set victory. Troy found itself down by as many as four early in the second set before closing to within a single point midway through the set. Trailing 12-8, Troy closed the gap to 12-9 on an Erin Kissling kill before closing the gap to 12-10 on a kill from Gilroy. After Denver pushed the lead to 13-10, Troy got kills from Smith and Kissling to close the gap to 13-12 before Denver went on a 12-1 run to close out the second set victory.
The Trojans took an early lead in the third set before the two teams traded points to even the match at 8-all, before the Pioneers were able to pull ahead with a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. Troy was able to fight back into the set, closing the gap to three points at 17-14 on an attack error by Denver's Holly Benson. After Denver scored to go back up by four at 18-14, the Trojans closed the gap back to three on a kill from Mackley. After the kill by Mackley, Denver went on a 7-1 run to close out the set and go up 2-1 overall.
The two teams traded points in the fourth set, eventually tying the set at 8-all. After Troy tied the set, Denver went on a 4-1 run to open the lead to 12-9, before Troy narrowed the gap to two on a kill from Gilroy. Denver went back up 13-10, but a kill from Henderson and an attack error by Jordan Raines allowed Troy to creep withing 13-12 midway through the set. From that point, Denver went on another run - this one 6-1 - to take a 19-13 lead late in the fourth and deciding set. The lead stayed that way until a Gilroy kill trimmed the deficit to six at 22-15 and an attack error by Nicole Haselden trimmed the deficit to 22-16. Unfortunately for the Trojans, Raines recorded a kill to give Denver the win in the fourth set for the overall victory.
Smith finished with nine kills, hitting .333 on the night, while Henderson recorded 29 assists and Mackley 10 digs in the loss. The Trojans hit .217 on the night, converting on 40 kills in 115 opportunities. Meanwhile, Jacqueline Paul led Denver with 18 kills, htting .586 on 29 attack opportunities. Benson added 14 kills and Raines 13 in the Pioneers' victory.
Troy returns to action Sunday afternoon on the road against North Texas in Denton.
