Troy University Athletics
Troy Falls To Indiana State
9/5/2008 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Troy Trojans dropped a heart-breaking five set match to Indiana State University 3-2 Friday morning at the Tiger Invitational on the campus of the University of Memphis.
After winning the first two games, the Trojans had their opportunities in game four and game five, but Indiana State was too strong down the stretch to pull out a 22-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-8 victory over Troy.
Troy (1-3) started off strong in game one, taking a 5-0 lead. The match was started with a kill by junior Meghan Gilroy, her first of 18 on the day for the Trojans. The lead was pushed to 4-0 on three consecutive service aces by senior Meghan Washlow, before Gilroy added her second kill of the day. After Indiana State came back to take a 14-12 lead in the opening, the Trojans took a 16-14 lead on a 4-0 scoring run highlighted on kills from Gilroy, freshman Erin Kissling and sophomore Megan Henderson, as well as another service ace by Washlow.
The two teams traded points, until the game was tied at 17-all. The Trojans scored the next two points to take a 19-17 lead on a kill by Laura Mackley and a service ace by Gilroy. After the score was trimmed to 21-20, the Trojans scored four of the next six points to win the opening game behind a kill by senior Aubre Smith and a pair of kills by Gilroy.
With a 1-0 lead overall in the match, the Trojans started off the second game of the match on kills by Kissling and Gilroy to take a quick 2-0 lead. After the match was tied at 7-all, the Trojans went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-9 lead in the second game. The run was highlighted on a pair of kills by Brittany McClelland and Kissling. Gilroy added a kill and Kissling a block in the run that opened the game up for the Trojans. Indiana State came back in the game and eventually tied it at 18-all, before the Trojans scored the final seven points of the game to secure the game two victory, 25-18. Smith highlighted the run for the Trojans with a pair of kills and a block (assist with McClelland).
Indiana State won game three after the Trojans were able to grab the early lead, while Troy battled back in game four with a chance to win the match. With the game tied at 15-all in the fourth game, Mackley gave the Trojans a 16-15 lead with a kill, before Henderson extended the lead to 17-15 and an attack error by the Sycamores pushed the Troy lead to 18-16. Unfortunately, Indiana State scored 10 of the next 12 points to close out the fourth game, and send the match to a fifth and deciding game.
In the final game, the Trojans fell behind early and were down by as many as eight, before Indiana State was able to close the match 15-8 in the final game.
Indiana State (4-2) was led by Kelli Whitaker with 17 kills, Jodilynn Stoker with 16 and Sarah Agnich with 10 kills. Whitney Fromm added 52 assists, while Kristy Cox recorded 21 digs for the Sycamores.
Gilroy led the Trojans with 18 kills, while Kissling tied her career-high with 11 kills in the loss. Henderson added 41 assists and 14 digs, while Emily Strader recorded 14 digs. Washlow recorded 14 digs and six service aces, while Smith finished with eight kills and seven blocks on the day for Troy.
The Trojans return to the court at 2 pm Friday afternoon against IUPUI in the second match of the day for both teams at the Tiger Invitational. Live stats of the match can be found here.
