Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Jacksonville State Unviersity
Trojans Fall to Gamecocks on the Road
9/16/2009 12:45:00 AM | Volleyball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Trojans traveled to face in-state rival Jacksonville State on Tuesday night and fell to the Gamecocks, 3-0. The Trojans were in every set, but could never get over the hump and fell in three sets, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22.
"Today was definitely a step backwards from how we played last weekend," said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick.
The Trojans were led by Meghan Gilroy with 13 kills and a .500 attack percentage. Megan Henderson paced the Trojans with 20 assists and 14 digs. Lizzie Clough also posted double digit digs with 11. Devin Von Pingel lead the Trojans with eight total blocks.
In the first set, the Trojans and Gamecocks came out neck and neck, and the Trojans got out to 6-5 lead. Jacksonville State won the next three to pull ahead, 6-8. The Trojans answered back and won four straight of their own to pull ahead, 10-8.
JSU scored three straight to go ahead by one, 10-11. They maintain a one point lead up to 16-17. At that time, the Gamecocks scored two straight to go ahead, 16-19, forcing Troy to call a timeout.
After the timeout, JSU scored two more to pull ahead by five, 16-21. The Gamecocks extended their lead to 17-24 before the Trojans scored three straight to pull within four at 20-24. Unfortunately that was all the Trojans could manage as JSU took the first set, 20-25.
The Trojans were led in the first set by Gilroy who had five kills on nine attempts. Defensively, Henderson paced Troy with seven digs to go along with seven assists.
The second set started much like the first with the two sides swapping points and finding themselves tied at 5-5. At that time, the Gamecocks scored four straight to pull ahead, 5-9, forcing the Trojans to call timeout.
After another JSU score, Von Pingel's fifth block of the match to that point stopped the Trojans' skid. The Trojans battled back to within three at 8-11. The JSU lead remained at three until 10-13 until Troy rattled off a couple of points to pull within, 12-13.
The Gamecocks stayed ahead by one up to 16-17, before they scored two straight to pull ahead by three at 16-19. JSU took two of three to extend their lead to four before the Trojans called timeout.
After the timeout, the Trojans scored four straight, fueled by two JSU errors, to tie the score up at 21-21. JSU responded with a timeout. JSU then scored four of six to take the second set, 23-25.
Troy was lead in the second set by Gilroy with five kills and Henderson with eight assists.
Like the first two sets, the third set started with the two sides trading points early. Neither team lead by two until the Trojans pulled ahead, 5-3. Troy remained ahead by two until 9-7, then JSU scored three straight to pull ahead, 9-10. The Trojans then scored a couple of their own to pull back ahead, 11-10.
Troy won three of the next four to pull ahead by three at 14-11. The Gamecocks rallied to get within one at 16-15 before Troy called a timeout. After the timeout, the Gamecocks won three of five to tie the set up at 18-18.
After JSU pulled even, the Trojans won three of four to pull ahead by two at 21-19. After a JSU timeout, the Gamecocks scored three straight to pull ahead by one, 21-22, forcing a Trojan timeout. JSU came out of the timeout and scored three of four to take the set, 22-25, and the match, 3-0.
"JSU played well, and we didn't play as well we should have," Kirkpatrick said, "We didn't make good decisions and we made too many excuses."
The Trojans will now have the longest break of their season with ten days before their next match. Troy will be back in action on Friday, September 25 when they will face FIU in the 2009 home opener and conference opener. Check back with TroyTrojans.com for more news and notes from the volleyball court as well as all of Troy Athletics.
