Troy University Athletics
Trojans Fall To Colorado In Season-Opener
8/29/2008 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Troy Trojans volleyball team fell to the University Colorado 3-0 on Friday night on the first night of the MSU Classic. The tournament is being held on the campus of Mississippi State University.
The Trojans dropped all three games in the match by a score of 25-20, 25-19, 25-22 to fall to 0-1 on the season.
In the opening game of the match, the Trojans and Colorado (1-0) battled to a 13-13 tie halfway through the game. Troy fell behind on the first serve of the game, but battled back to take a 4-2 lead on two consecutive serves by Meghan Gilroy. An attack error by Alex Buth and a kill by Aubre Smith gave the Trojans a 3-2 lead. They took the two-point lead after another attack error by Colorado.
However, after the match was tied, the Buffaloes scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 15-13 lead. Colorado would hold that lead, extending the lead to as many as seven points before the Trojans were able to battle back to trim the lead to four. Sophomore Megan Henderson trimmed the lead to 22-16 with a kill, before an attack error by Colorado and a service ace by Gilroy trimmed the lead to 22-18. Unfortunately, that is as close as the Trojans could get in the opening game of the match, as Colorado pushed the lead 24-20 before a kill by Kaitlyn Burkett ended the first game at 25-20.
In the second game, the Trojans fell behind early, by as many as eight points (15-7) midway through the match. Henderson again struck for a kill from her setter position, trimming the lead to 15-8, before Victoria Rogoschewsky recorded a service ace to trim the lead to 15-9. After a point by Colorado extended the lead to 16-9, the Trojans scored four consecutive points to trim the lead to 16-13. Henderson recorded a service ace and a kill, with another point coming off an attack error by Colorado's Amber Sutherland. That would be as close as Troy would come to taking the lead, until the Trojans trimmed the lead to 21-19 on an attack error off a Meghan Washlow serve, when Emilee Sisco was blocked by Henderson.
Troy looked to climb back into the match in the third game, and jumped to an early 2-1 lead in that game when Gilroy and Laura Mackley recorded kills. They battled Colorado midway through the game, tying the score at 15-15. The Trojans took a 17-15 lead on a block by Lauren Barney-Baker and Smith, followed by a kill off the hands of Smith. The lead was pushed to 18-15 when Sutherland was charged with an attack error. After Colorado came back to tie the game at 18-18, the two teams traded the lead until Sutherland gave Colorado a 23-22 lead late in the game.
Smith led the Trojans offensive attack with eight kills, followed by Gilroy with seven and Kerry Heinz with six. Henderson recorded the highest attack percentage of the night with an attack percentage of .308. Henderson also recorded 23 assists, while Washlow and Henderson recorded two service aces. Meanwhile, Emily Strader added nine digs on the match.
The Trojans face Mississippi State at 10 am Saturday morning, followed by Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 4:30 pm to conclude their play in the season-opening tournament.
