Troy University Athletics
Trojans Ready to Take on JSU
9/14/2009 7:00:00 PM | Volleyball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Trojans will continue their long stretch of matches away from Trojan Arena on Tuesday when they travel north to take on in-state rival Jacksonville State. Troy will be playing its 11th match of the season, all away from Trojan Arena.
The Gamecocks (6-5) and Trojans will be meeting for the 22nd time in history. The Gamecocks lead the series 12-9, but the Trojans won the last meeting at Trojan Arena last season.
The Trojans (4-6) are coming into the match after a 1-2 showing at the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Classic last weekend. Troy won its final match against St. John's, last seasons co-champion in the Big East.
JSU comes into Tuesday's match after a 0-3 weekend at the University of Arkansas Tournament this past weekend. The Gamecocks fell to Arkansas, Kansas and North Texas.
The Trojans are led offensively this season by senior middle hitter Meghan Gilroy. She leads the squad with 122 kills and a .359 attack percentage. Her 4.36 kills per set average is the second highest total in the Sun Belt Conference. She is being set up by Megan Henderson who has 352 assists on the season.
Defensively, freshman Lizzie Clough leads the team with 92 digs, averaging 2.56 per set. Gilroy and another freshman, Devin Von Pingel, both pace the Trojans with 24 total blocks.
"Our freshmen have played great at times, but at times they've played like freshmen," said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick, "There still adjusting to the level and speed of the play, but they're getting better every day."
Despite the tough tournament last weekend, the Gamecocks have seen success. The Gamecocks have defeated both of Alabama's SEC schools, Alabama and Auburn. They also saw success in going 3-0 at the Wake Forest Demon Deacon Invite during the first weekend of the season.
The Gamecocks are led offensively by senior outside hitter Brittney Whitten with 3.27 kills per set. Defensively, JSU is lead by sophomore libero Lauren Harkins. She currently sits third in the OVC with 4.61 digs per game.
"They are a great team that has seen a lot of success," Kirkpatrick said, "We'll have to play at the top of our game. We're looking forward to putting our team up against theirs and seeing who comes out on top."
Live stats from Mathews Coliseum will be available at the link above. After the match of Tuesday, the Trojans will be off for ten days before they make their debut in front of the Trojan Arena crowd on September 25 against defending Sun Belt champion FIU.
