Troy Drops Road Game at Samford

Wednesday, September 1

Birmingham, AL

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

Samford University

9/1/2010 9:46:10 PM | Volleyball

The Trojans dropped their third match in four tries, return home for three matches this weekend

By: Brynna Waters

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Troy University volleyball team and the Samford Bulldogs battled on the court Wednesday night, before the Bulldogs were able to pull out a 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 12-25, 22-25) victory over Troy.

The Trojans (1-3) were led by junior Natasha Kolunjia with 10 kills and a .381 attack percentage on the night. Senior setter Megan Henderson continues to climb the charts in assists, adding 34 to her total in tonight's match. Other stars for the Trojans were sophomore Devin Von Pingel, with nine kills and two solo blocks, and sophomore Lizzie Clough with five kills and 14 digs for the Trojans.

“We played a quality opponent tonight," Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "We keep improving in our skills, and despite the loss I like the way that we are headed in our game.”

In the first set, the Trojans fell behind early at 17-10 before starting their comeback. A kill by sophomore Kayla Giles started the rally, followed by a kill and service ace by junior Brittany McClelland to get the Trojans within three, 17-14, of Samford. The Trojans kept battling back, and were able to finish the rally with a first set victory off kills by Clough and Von Pingel.

In the second set, the Trojans jumped to an early lead before the Bulldogs came back to tie it 5-all. The Trojans kept it close with kills from Giles and Kolunjia, but the Trojan efforts were not enough to come back when Samford (3-1) pulled ahead at 10-9 and eventually won the set to the match at 1-all heading to intermission.

The Bulldogs pulled away early in the third set. The Trojans tried to pull together and regain their strength, but efforts were not enough as Samford kept their lead throughout. In the fourth, the Trojans got again early, until a trio of kills from Kolunija, Clough, and freshman Courtney Cohen pushed the Trojans to just one point behind at 15-14 midway through the final set.

The Trojans were unable to take the lead in the fourth set, although they fought for every point until the Bulldogs were able to pull away at the end.

The Trojans will have their first home matches this weekend as they host the 2010 Troy University Spiketacular, which will feature Evansville, McNeese State, Troy, and Western Illinois. The matches get underway 10 am on Saturday inside Sartain Hall, with the Trojans taking the court at 12:30 pm. Both matches on Saturday will be streamed on All-Access via TroyTrojans.com.

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