Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Arkansas State University
Trojans Fall in Four in Sun Belt Play
10/4/2009 3:00:00 AM | Volleyball
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Trojans volleyball team is heading home after a tough road trip that ended with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 31-29) loss to Arkansas State on Saturday night.
The Trojans (6-10, 2-3) were led offensively by sophomore Brittany McClelland who posted 15 kills and a .250 attack percentage. Meghan Gilroy (14) and Devin Von Pingel (10) also posted double digit kills on the night. Megan Henderson set up the Trojan offense with 37 assists.
Defensively, the Trojans had five players with double digit digs, led by Kayla Giles with 18. Others in double digits included Henderson (14), McClelland (13), Emily Strader (12) and Lizzie Clough (11).
"We came out mentally unprepared tonight," said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick, "I'm proud of how we finished, but I'm not satisfied because we didn't play that way throughout."
The Trojans and Red Wolves (14-5, 4-1) battled back and forth throughout much of the first set, finding themselves tied at 14-14. At that time, the Trojans scored three straight to go ahead, 17-14. However, Arkansas State scored nine of the next ten, pulling ahead 23-18. They ultimately took the first set, 25-21.
In the second set, Troy fell into an early 4-1 hole, and could never really recover. The Trojans got within one as late as 7-6, but at that time, the Red Wolves scored four straight to go ahead, 11-6. Throughout the rest of the second set, the Trojans could only get within three points at 13-10, and they fell, 25-17.
With their backs against the wall, the Trojans didn't give up, and used an early run to take the third set. With the two sides tied at 5-5, the Trojans scored seven straight, pulling ahead 12-5. The Trojans expanded their lead to as many as eight at 18-10, and held on to take the set, 25-21.
The fourth set saw the Trojans come from behind, but fall just short of forcing their second deciding set in as many days. Troy found themselves in a late, 19-15 hole, but they didn't back down, taking five of six to pull even at 20-20.
After that point, the Trojans and Red Wolves found themselves tied on nine separate occasions. The Trojans fought of match points at 28-27 and 29-28, but they ultimately fell, 31-29.
"We had our chances to take the fourth set, but we just couldn't get that one ball down," Kirkpatrick said.
Arkansas State was led offensively by Brittany Hoag with 17 kills and Laura Bennett with 49 assists. Defensively, Heather Bowman paced the Red Wolves with 26 digs.
The Trojans will be back in action next weekend when they host the ULM at Trojan Arena on Friday night at 5:00 p.m. Check back with TroyTrojans.com for more news and notes from the volleyball court as well as all of Trojan Athletics.
