Troy Falls To Arkansas State In Home Conference Opener

Friday, October 1

Troy, AL

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

Arkansas State University

Troy Falls To Arkansas State In Home Conference Opener

10/1/2010 9:37:24 PM | Volleyball

Trojans will look to rebound against UALR on Saturday

By: Brynna Waters

Box Score

TROY, Ala. - The Troy Trojans volleyball team fell Friday night in home conference play to the Arkansas State Red Wolves 3-1 (23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 22-25).

"We played well in spurts tonight," head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "We just need to make that extra play. We are going to have to dig deep to figure out a way to make that play, and hopefully we can do that tomorrow."

Troy (8-11, 1-2 Sun Belt) was led on the night by junior Brittany McClelland, who recorded 15 kills, a .481 attack percentage and four blocks. Senior Megan Henderson keeps adding to her career numbers and climbing the charts at the university, recording 35 assists and 24 digs in the match.

Arkansas State (7-8, 1-2 Sun Belt) took the lead in the first set, but Troy wasn't too far behind in the points race. The set was within two points throughout until kills by McClelland and senior Victoria Rogoschewsky tied the Trojans and Red Wolves at 14-all. Service aces by McClelland and freshman Alexandra Alexander kept the Trojans in the set, but it wasn't enough as Arkansas State took the win.

The Red Wolves had the early lead in the second set as well before Troy was able to come back with kills from junior Natasha Kolunija and sophomore Kayla Giles bringing the Trojans within two at 15-13. Arkansas State quickly took a big lead, but Troy wasn't done yet. The Trojans sparked a huge rally on the heels of sophomore server Caroline Alexander and with three kills from McClelland, Troy was able to tie the set at 22-all. However that was the end of the rally as the Red Wolves took the second set.

After intermission, the Trojans seemed to have new life in them. The third set was tied three times before Troy was able to pull away with a pair of kills by McClelland. Arkansas State tried to start rallies several times throughout the set, but could not regain the lead from the Trojans. Kills by McClelland and sophomore Devin Von Pingel sealed the victory for the Trojans.

Troy jumped to an early lead in the fourth set with triple kills by McClelland. Troy held the lead against the Red Wolves until Arkansas State was able to form a rally to tie the set at 12-all. Kills by Giles, Von Pingel, and Kolunija were able to keep the Trojan lead, until the Red Wolves tied the set at 20-all. This time the Trojans weren't so lucky, and fell to Arkansas State.

Troy will be back in action tomorrow at 7 p.m. when they will face the Trojans of UALR in Sartain Hall. Tomorrow is Fan Day and the team will be signing autographs after the game. Admission to all home games are free.

Follow all the Troy action on Twitter by following @TroyAthletics.