Troy University Athletics
Trojans Head To South Florida
9/25/2008 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. - In a little over 24 hours, the first four weeks of the season will be a distant memory for the Troy Trojans volleyball program. Those four weeks will be looked upon as preparation for every team's dream in the Sun Belt Conference, challenging for a conference crown.
"Everything we have done up to this point has been preparing us for conference play," Troy coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "We purposely schedule hard teams to prepare us for the difficult Sun Belt Conference schedule that we have to play."
That dream starts Friday night for Kirkpatrick and the Trojans, opening conference play in a different time zone against Florida Atlantic. The match is slated to begin at 7 pm (EST) at FAU Arena, and will be the second of four days away from home for the Trojans volleyball squad.
"Conference is such a big battle to begin with," Kirkpatrick said. "To fly to a different time zone and to be away from home for about four days is good for us. It will force us to play good and will really show how good we are."
Troy (9-6) opens against a team that they swept last season in Florida Atlantic, but a team that grew off experience from last season. These year's edition of the Owls is a sophomore-laden team with eight, while only having four other players (two juniors and two seniors) on the team.
Florida Atlantic (7-4) is led by Morgan Johns with 129 total kills, while Krystena Castro has added 115. Four other players have added 55+ kills this season for Florida Atlantic through their first 11 matches.
Meanwhile, the Trojans will look to a group of upperclassmen and a few younger players to lead the way into the conference opener Friday night.
Junior Meghan Gilroy continues to lead Troy is currently 20th in the nation in kills per set at 4.27 and stands third in the Sun Belt Conference. She has also recorded 188 total kills through 15 total matches this season for the Trojans, while moving into third in kills per set and eighth in total kills all-time at Troy. Meanwhile, sophomore Megan Henderson paces the Trojans with 472 total assist, averaging 8.74 assists per set.
Senior Aubre Smith continues to soar up the all-time career charts at Troy in her final season, currently second in solo blocks with 65 and third in total blocks in 229. This season, she has come up big on the both sides of the net, recording 135 total kills and recording 48 total blocks. Smith is currently fourth in the conference in blocks per set with 1.09 in the young season.
Meanwhile, senior Meghan Washlow continues her assault on the record books in service aces, digs and assists. She sixth in service aces (147), eighth in digs (907) and fourth in assists (2,171). Washlow is currently the Sun Belt leader with 25 service aces and is 19th in the nation in service aces per set at 0.56.
The Trojans are going to need those four players, along with the other 12 on the team this weekend to provide consistent play. Not only does Troy face a revamped Florida Atlantic squad, but they also face on the favorites in the conference in Florida International on Saturday night.
Florida International (10-3) was picked to finish third in the East Division of the conference behind Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky, and feature the preseason Player of the Year in Yarimar Rosa. The senior has all ready been named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week twice this season, and leads the conference in kills (257) and kills per set (5.47).
"We are going to play the best teams we can," Kirkpatrick said. "We are going to play them, and be the best team we can be. Over the next few weeks we will play the best this conference has to offer, and we are looking forward to starting conference play."
The match with Florida International begins at 7 pm on Saturday night at FIU Arena. Both matches will feature live stats provided by the host institution.
