Trojans Get Much Needed Win

Friday, November 11

Troy, Ala.

5:00 p.m.

Troy University

Florida Atlantic University

Photo by: Edward Fieder

11/11/2011 7:35:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team kept their Sun Belt Tournament hopes alive as they took a four-set win from Florida Atlantic on Friday night at Sartain Hall.

The Trojans (16-13, 6-9) also guaranteed a winning regular season as they rallied after losing the second set to the Owls. Courtney Cohen made history on the night for the Trojans as she picked up 17 digs, moving her season total to 497, a new Troy record.

“It was great to get a win on homecoming weekend,” head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “We need to play better tomorrow against FIU in hopes to make the Sun Belt Tournament.”

The Trojans return to the court on Saturday night when they host FIU at Sartain Hall at 7:00 p.m. The match will mark the final regular season contest for Troy's three seniors, Natasha Kolunija, Laura Mackley and Brittany McClelland. A win over the Panthers would also guarantee the Trojans a Sun Belt Tournament berth.

Check back with TroyTrojans.com for coverage from that match. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter @TroyAthletics or on Facebook.

TROY 3, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 1 (25-18, 22-25, 27-25, 25-15)

The Trojans were led offensively by Kayla Pickart who posted 15 kills while Devin Von Pingel and Breanna Cullity each posted nine. Cohen's 17 digs paced a defense that held the Owls to a .147 attack percentage.

Alexandra Alexander posted a double-double on the night as she recorded 45 assists to go along with 14 digs. Lizzie Clough also posted double-figure digs with 11.

The Owls hit a respectable .226 in the first set but the Trojans did them one better as they swung at a .364 clip. Troy took a close lead at 10-8 and pushed it to five at 13-8 and carried it through to 16-11. The Trojans would grow the lead to seven as they took the first set, 25-18.

Florida Atlantic would fight back in a close second set that saw the two sides tied on 13 different occasions. The Trojans slipped to a .200 attack percentage in the second frame as the Owls hit .242. The Trojans led late in the set at 21-18, but only managed one more point as the Owls took the second set, 25-22.

The third set was a crowd pleaser as the Trojans took a very close set, 27-25. The Trojans only hit .051 in the set but survived thanks to two clutch blocks at the end. The Owls had two set points at 24-23 and 25-24. However, after the Trojans tied things up at 25-25, two straight Owl attack attempts were turned backed to give Troy the 27-25 win. Von Pingel and Cullity combined for the first block as Von Pingel and Alexander combined for the second. The two blocks were part of eight that Von Pingel turned away.

The Trojans rode the momentum and cruised to a fourth-set win as they held Florida Atlantic to a -.029 attack percentage in the final frame. Troy slowly grew their lead that reached double digits for the first time at 20-10. The Trojans actually led by as much as 12 at 23-11 before going on to take the final set, 25-15.