Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Florida Atlantic University
Trojans Sweep FAU on the Road
10/17/2009 7:45:00 PM | Volleyball
"As disappointed as I was last night, I'm really proud of how we played today," said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick, "We played well in a lot of aspects that we were lacking yesterday."
Troy (11-11, 6-4) was led offensively in the match by Meghan Gilroy who posted 14 kills and a .310 attack percentage. Also playing well for the Trojans was Devin Von Pingel who had 13 kills and .409 attack percentage. Megan Henderson posted 44 assists to lead the Trojan attack.
Defensively, the Trojans had three players with double figure digs. Emily Strader led the team with 11, while Gilroy and Kayla Giles each had 10. The Trojans out hit the Owls, .224 to .113. They also outkilled and outdug FAU (4-14, 3-7).
The win marks the Trojans the first road win of season.
"To get our first road win in a conference match is very big, and hopefully we can use the momentum going forward," Kirkpatrick said.
The first set was a close one, with the two teams finding themselves tied on 11 different occasion. FAU actually got out to an early 6-2 lead, but the Trojans chipped away at the deficit and eventually pulled even at 13-13. With the score at 14-14, each sided had a four point run, and the Owls and Trojans were tied again at 18-18.
The Trojans trailed late by a score of 23-21, but after a timeout, they were able to win five of six points, including two Von Pingel kills to take the first set, 26-24.
The second set was much different as the Trojans jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a second set victory. Troy got an early run and pulled away to a 10-3 lead. The Owls never got closer than six points as Troy went on to close out the set, 25-17.
The Trojans trailed midway through the third set, but they used a timely run to take control. With FAU up 16-12, the Trojans scored six straight to pull ahead by two at 18-16. The Owls tied things back up at 19-19, but at that time the Trojans took six of seven, capped off by two Giles kills, to clinch the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
The Trojans will be back at home, where they have won six straight matches, next weekend when they play host to Denver and North Texas.
The Trojans will host Denver at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Trojan Arena. The match will be the Trojans' annual breast cancer awareness match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink. Members of the team will be selling pink T-shirts at the Trojan Center throughout the week for $10. All money raised will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Click the above link for more information on the organization.
Check back with TroyTrojans.com for more information on Friday night's match, as well as all of Troy Athletics.
