Troy Volleyball Set for Opener

Friday, August 26

Birmingham, Ala.

11:00 a.m.

Troy University

Samford University

Photo by: Cass Davis

8/25/2011 12:06:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Full Tournament Schedule

After nearly a month of practice, the 2011 Troy volleyball team finally gets their season underway this weekend as they travel to Birmingham, Ala. for the Samford/UAB Invitational.

The Trojans are set to play three matches this weekend at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University. Troy will first take on the host Bulldogs on Friday at 11:00 a.m. before matching up with UNC-Asheville at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The Trojans will close their portion of the tournament on Saturday when they take on Akron at 12:00 p.m.

“We can't wait to get out there and play Samford,” said head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick. “We're excited to see how our training has gone and this will be a good test to start season.”

“We've playing well together in practice, but it's going to be good to see someone other than ourselves on the other side of the net finally,” Kirkpatrick added.

Live stats will not be available for this weekend's tournament, so be sure to check back in with TroyTrojans.com for results and recaps.

You can also follow Troy University Athletics on Twitter @TroyAthletics or become a fan on Facebook.

TROY

2010 Record: 11-22 (3-13)
Head Coach: Sonny Kirkpatrick (6th season)
Letterwinners Returning: 6
Letterwinners Lost: 4

The Trojans look to improve on an 11-22 performance in 2010, with most of their key pieces returning. The biggest question mark will be at setter where Troy has lost four-year starter Megan Henderson. Alexandra Alexander has moved to setter for the 2011 season and will mix with newcomer Cassie Daniels to fill the void.

The Trojans return their top three attackers from a season ago in seniors Natasha Kolunija and Brittany McClelland and junior Devin Von Pingel. The Trojans have also added some fresh faces to the front line in transfers Mailande Parker (West Florida) and Breanna Cullity (Long Island). Freshmen Lindsey Schoewe, Lucy Cikra and Kayla Pickart will also add depth to the attacking group.

On defense, last year's libero, Courtney Cohen, returns after setting a Troy freshman record with 410 digs. The Trojans also welcome the return of Lizzie Clough from an injury that ended her 2010 campaign prematurely. True freshman Kelley Curran will also mix with the two sophomores to form the Trojans back line.

SAMFORD

2010 Record: 14-17 (8-8)
Head Coach: Derek Schroeder (4th season)
Letterwinners Returning: 8
Letterwinners Lost: 4
Series: Troy leads 20-11

After back-to-back SoCon North titles in 2008 and 2009, the Bulldogs slipped to 8-8 in the league last year. Samford has been picked to finish second in the North this year with Preseason All-SoCon Team member Elizabeth Neisler leading the way.

UNC-ASHEVILLE

2010 Record: 19-12 (11-5)
Head Coach: Frederico Santos (1st season)
Letterwinners Returning: 9
Letterwinners Lost: 3
Series: Troy leads 1-0

The Bulldogs climbed to third place in the final Big South standings a season ago, but under first-year head coach Frederico Santos, have been picked to finish sixth in the league in 2011. Santos joins his alma mater after their coach of 17 years, Julie Torbett resigned in February.

AKRON

2010 Record: 15-17 (7-9)
Head Coach: Ron Arenz (4th season)
Letterwinners Returning: 9
Letterwinners Lost: 3
Series: First Meeting

The Zips come into 2011 after finishing the 2010 campaign in second place in the MAC East Division. The 15-17 overall mark and 7-9 league record were both the best marks for Akron since 2003. The Zips have been picked to finish third in the MAC's East Division this season with Preseason All-MAC selection Tina Dimitrijevs leading the way.