Troy University Athletics
Trojans Travel East Yet Again
9/3/2009 6:45:00 PM | Volleyball
MACON, Ga. - The Trojans are headed to Mercer and the Bear Brawl looking to stop their current skid. After winning their first two matches of the season, the Trojans have dropped the last two to Georgia Southern and Auburn.
"Volleyball season is a marathon, not a sprint," head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said, "This weekend gives us another chance to get on the floor and keep getting better."
The Trojans will take on three opponents that they have seen before this weekend when they take on the Mercer Bears, Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and Furman Paladins.
The Trojans are being led offensively this season by senior Meghan Gilroy. The Pensacola, Fla. native has posted 69 kills on the season, good for a 4.93 kills per set average. She has committed just 12 errors in 14 sets and has a .475 attack percentage.
Setter Megan Henderson currently sits third in the Sun Belt averaging 10.86 assists per set with 152 total assists. Defensively, freshman Kayla Giles leads the Trojans with 39 digs. Junior libero Emily Strader is right behind Giles with 38 digs of her own.
The Trojans first match of the weekend will come against the host Bears at 1:00 EST on Friday. The Bears opened their season last weekend at the Regency Suites Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech. The Bears lost all three matches on the weekend, falling to Austin Peay, Georgia and Georgia Tech. The Bears are looking to improve on their 18-11 record in 2008. Coach Noelle Rooke's Bears return four starters from that squad that finished with a 13-7 A-Sun record.
The Trojans and Bears are very familiar with each other, having met 15 times in the past. The Trojans lead the series 11-4 with the last meeting coming in 2007. The Trojans won that match up 3-1.
Troy will play again on Friday at 5:00 EST when they take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. The Wildcats enter the weekend after falling to UCF on Tuesday, 3-0. They opened their season last weekend in Orlando, falling to Jacksonville and North Florida, both 3-0. Coach Vanessa Cogswell's squad posted a 10-17 record in 2008 and returns four starters for 2009. The Wildcats will look to improve on their 3-5 MEAC record from 2008.
The Trojans and Wildcats have met five times in the past, with the Trojans winning every match. The two teams last met in 2005 in Trojan Arena with the Trojans winning 3-0.
The Trojans will conclude their weekend on Saturday at 1:00 EST when they play the Furman Paladins. The Paladins opened their season last weekend at the Wake Forest Demon Deacon Invitational. They fell to Jacksonville State 3-1 in their first match, but then tuned things around to sweep Charlotte and top the host Demon Deacons 3-2. Furman had three players with at least 29 kills on the weekend and setter Kelsey Salava posted 122 assists.
The Paladins are the first of six 2008 NCAA Tournament teams that the Trojans will face this season. Furman won the Southern Conference tournament last season and went on to fall to Utah in the first round.
The Trojans and Paladins have only met twice, splitting those two meetings. The teams haven't seen each other since 1998 when the Paladins swept the Trojans.
Live stats of all of the Trojans matches this weekend can be seen from the link above. Check back with TroyTrojans.com throughout the weekend with news and notes from the volleyball court as well as all of Troy Athletics.
