Troy University Athletics
Trojans Set to Travel to Auburn
9/1/2009 9:45:00 PM | Volleyball
AUBURN, Ala. - The Troy University volleyball will look to build off its success from this past weekend when they head to Auburn to take on the Tigers on Wednesday.
The Trojans went 2-1 this weekend at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern, with the lone loss coming to the host Eagles. The Trojans defeated Stetson, 3-1, on Friday night and Presbyterian, 3-0, on Saturday morning.
The Tigers are coming off of an opening weekend that saw them sweep through their own War Eagle Invitational. The Tigers defeated Alabama A&M twice and UAB once.
The last time these two teams met, a record crowd saw the match at Trojan Arena. 1,523 people saw the Tigers defeat Troy, 3-1. Auburn also won the only other meeting between the two teams in 2007.
"We're just going to go up there and do what we are trained to do," head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said, "Every match is big and the ultimate goal is for us to get better and progress as a team."
The Trojans are led by senior middle hitter Meghan Gilroy. She was named to the All-Tournament team at the Holiday Inn Invitational and also garnered Sun Belt Player of the Week Honors. In the Trojans three matches, Gilroy posted 57 kills and just seven errors, giving her a .538 attack percentage.
"Gilroy has been a big part of our offense for four years now, and it's great to see her get the recognition," Kirkpatrick said, "As far as Auburn goes, they really have to pay attention to where she is and that opens to door for everyone else."
Joining Gilroy on the All-Tournament team was junior setter Megan Henderson. She posted 127 assists on the weekend, averaging 11.55 per set.
The Trojans also got a lot of production from three freshmen in their opening weekend. Kayla Giles, Devin Von Pingel and Lizzie Clough each played in every set this weekend. Von Pingel posted a .318 attack percentage with 20 kills and just six errors. Giles recorded 31 digs, the second highest total on the team, while also recording 16 kills. Clough posted a team high four service aces on the weekend.
The Tigers were led this weekend by their own freshman. Katherine Culwell earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 2.78 kills per set and posting a .300 attack percentage on the weekend.
For live stats from Auburn, click on the link above and then click on GameTracker on the right side of the page. Check back with TroyTrojans.com for more news and notes on Trojan volleyball as well as all of Troy Athletics.
