Troy University Athletics
Troy Captures Tiger Invitational Title
9/6/2008 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Troy Trojans won the odd sets in the final match of the Tiger Invitational, defeating the host team University of Memphis 3-2 (26-24, 12-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11), capturing the tournament championship.
"This is the biggest win we have had since we have been here," Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "Memphis is always near the top of Conference USA and usually near the top half of the rankings."
After battling Memphis to a 2-all tie through the first four games on their home court, the Trojans jumped ahead late in the fifth and final set to claim the victory. After the two teams traded the first 10 points to tie the set at 5-all, the Trojans opened an 8-5 advantage on a kill by Megan Henderson, a kill by Brittany McClelland and an attack error by Lauren Thompson. Memphis (4-3) closed the gap to 10-9 until the Trojans scored back-to-back points to gain control of the final set. A pair of kills by Henderson and Meghan Gilroy gave Troy a 12-9 lea. The lead was trimmed to 12-10, until a kill by Gilroy pushed the advantage to 13-10. The Trojans gained match point on a kill by Henderson, before an attack error by Lauren Cote ended the match.
The Trojans came out of the break for the third set tied with Memphis 1-1, and the Trojans managed to gain momentum to win the third set 25-23. After trailing 2-0 to start the set, the Trojans went on a 6-0 run to take the 6-2 lead. An attack error by Thompson, followed by a service ace courtesy of Vicky Rogoschewsky, a ball-handling error by Emily Underwood, a kill by Henderson and back-to-back errors by the Tigers led to the Trojans gaining advantage.
Memphis was able to come back and tie the match at 10-all, and eventually took a 12-10 lead over Troy in the third set. However, back-to-back kills by McClelland tied the set at 12-all, and the two teams traded points until Memphis took a 19-16 lead late in the set. A pair of kills by Aubre Smith and another error by Memphis tied the match at 19-all. The Trojans took a 23-21 lead on a McClelland kill, and were able to put the match away on another kill by the freshman and a kill by Gilroy. The win gave the Trojans a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth game.
The fourth game belonged to Memphis early, with the Tigers claiming a 10-7 lead. However, a kill by McClelland trimmed the lead to 10-8, before Memphis pushed the lead to 15-8 on a 7-0 run. The Trojans battled back, closing the gap with a 5-0 run late to trim the deficit to 24-21. A block by Henderson and Gilroy, kills by Mackley and Gilroy and a service ace by Meghan Washlow trimmed the deficit before Memphis pulled away to score the set point and win 25-21.
The match started off well for the Trojans, taking the first set 26-24 after the two teams traded the first 32 points of the set. The Trojans took a 19-16 lead in the opening set on a block by McClelland and Smith, a solo block by Smith and an attack error by Thompson. The lead grew to as many as five points in the opening set, until Memphis came back to tie the set at 24-all. A service error by Memphis and a kill by Gilroy ended the first set at 26-24 and gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
"When we serve and receive the ball we gave ourselves chances to win," Kirkpatrick said. "We did a good job of that today in the sets that we won. I have to give our players credit, they sucked it up and made the adjustments we needed to make when it got close."
Gilroy led the Trojans with 16 kills and three blocks, while Smith added 14 kills and a pair of blocks. Henderson added seven kills, 43 assists and 12 digs for the Trojans, while Emily Strader and Erin Kissling contributed 12 digs. Washlow added 11 digs in the victory.
Gilroy and Smith were named to the All-Tournament Team, while Henderson was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
"It was great to see the way we played tonight," Kirkpatrick said. "It showed all the hard work that the girls have done in this summer, in the offseason and preseason paid off. It was fun to watch."
Troy (4-3) returns to action Tuesday night (September 9) at Trojan Arena, playing their first home match of the season against in-state rival Auburn University at 7 pm.
