Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Florida International University
Trojans Drop Match at FIU
10/17/2009 12:15:00 AM | Volleyball
MIAMI, Fla. - The Trojan volleyball team had its four match winning streak snapped on Friday night by Sun Belt leading FIU, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-18).
Troy (10-11, 5-4) was led offensively by Meghan Gilroy who posted eight kills with no errors. Kayla Giles was one behind Gilroy with seven kills. Megan Henderson recorded 16 assists for Troy. Defensively, Lizzie Clough and Laura Mackley both posted 6 digs.
The loss is the Trojans first in nearly two weeks. FIU (18-2, 8-0) extended its own winning streak to 11 matches.
"We had an opportunity to compete with the best team in our conference and one of the best in the country," said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick, "but we were completely taken out of what we try to do."
In the first set, the Golden Panthers got off to a fast start, taking the first five points. With FIU up 7-1, the Trojans took three straight to pull to 7-4. The Panthers were able to pull ahead by seven at 11-4, and they stayed ahead by that margin until 22-15. At that point, FIU took three of four to clinch the first set, 25-16.
The second set started out much closer, with the Trojans only trailing by one early at 5-4. However, with the score at 5-4, FIU scored nine straight to pull ahead 14-4. The two sides traded points throughout the rest of the set, but the Trojans were unable to overcome the deficit and fell in the second set, 25-13.
The third set was much the same as the second, with the two sides remaining close early. The Trojans and Panthers were tied at 7-7, but unfortunately for the Trojans, that is when FIU scored seven straight to pull ahead 14-7. The Trojans were able to battle back and get within four at 17-13, but FIU extended the lead back to seven and took the third set, 25-18.
"The team has set standards for themselves, today we didn't reach any of those standards and I'm really disappointed," Kirkpatrick said, "We need to get better in a hurry for tomorrow."
The Trojans will back in action tomorrow when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on Florida Atlantic. First serve is set for 1 p.m. EST. Check back with TroyTrojans.com for stats and scores from that contest, as well as all of Troy Athletics.
