Troy University Athletics
Troy Set to Host Rival South Alabama
9/27/2009 10:45:00 PM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. - After playing their first 11 matches on the road, the Troy University volleyball team will play its third in four days inside of Trojan Arena on Monday night.
Troy (5-8, 1-1) will host in-state and Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama at 7 p.m. on Monday night.
"South Alabama is a huge rival for us. They're a conference foe, a division foe and a state foe," said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick, "We want to be the best in Alabama and we need to beat the teams in our state to do that. We've built a nice rivalry with them and it has continued to grow in intensity."
The Trojans will looking to build off of the momentum they have after a five set victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
"We've played well so far this weekend, and if we continue to play at that level, then maybe we've turned corner," Kirkpatrick said, "It's up to us to continue to play at that level and we know there is still one very important match before the weekend is done.
The Jaguars (9-6, 0-2) will be looking to rebound from a tough weekend in which they went 0-2. The Lady Jags fell to FAU on Friday, 3-0, and FIU on Sunday, 3-0.
Troy was led over the weekend by Meghan Gilroy, who posted 32 kills in the Trojans two matches, bringing her season total to 167, good for a 4.28 average per set. Megan Henderson had 75 assists on the weekend, including 52 in the victory over FAU.
Henderson also led the squad defensively with 28 digs and six blocks in the two matches. Freshman Devin Von Pingel also posted six blocks on the weekend.
South Alabama is led this season by Juliana Almeida with 185 kills, averaging 3.56 per set. The Lady Jags also have two other players with over 100 kills. Jennica Hagberg paces South Alabama with 521 assists. The Lady Jags have four players with over 100 digs, led by Kari Frazier with 138.
The Trojans lead the all-time series over the Jags, 15-13. However, South Alabama took both meetings last season, including a 3-2 victory at Trojan Arena.
First serve between the Trojans and Lady Jags is set for 7 p.m. at Trojan Arena. Admission to all home matches is free. Live stats and a live webcast of the match can be seen at the above links.
"If you've never come to one of our matches, Monday night's match is the one to be at. You're definitely going to see some great volleyball," Kirkpatrick said.
Check back with TroyTrojans.com for scores and stats from the volleyball court, as well as all of Troy Athletics.
