Troy Comes Home with a Win

Saturday, August 27

Birmingham, Ala.

12:00 noon

Troy University

University of Akron

Photo by: Cass Davis

8/27/2011 1:54:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Troy University volleyball team bounced back from a tough Friday at the Samford/UAB Invitational and took a straight-set victory over Akron on Saturday afternoon.

Troy (1-2) used a balanced offensive effort with, four players over seven kills, and a 24-dig performance from Courtney Cohen to take the 3-0 decision from Akron (0-3).

“We played very well today,” head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “We got better in each match that we played this weekend. Even in the loss last night, we played much better than we did yesterday morning.”

The Trojans will return to action on Tuesday as they open their 2011 home schedule with Alabama State visiting Sartain Hall at 7:00 p.m.

“We're always excited about playing at home,” Kirkpatrick said. “And a home opener always has a special fell. We just need all of our fans to come out and support us.”

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

Troy 3, Akron 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-23)

The Zips actually posted 39 kills to the Trojans 38, however Troy posted a .222 team attack percentage to Akron's .123 mark.

A balanced attack was the key for the Trojans as transfer Breanna Cullity led the way with 11 kills. Natasha Kolunija posted eight while Devin Von Pingel and Kayla Pickart each contributed seven. Kolunija led the way with a .316 attack percentage.

The Trojans kept their mistakes to a minimum with just 14 attack errors and two service errors. In comparison, the Zips posted 24 attack errors and six service errors.

Alexandra Alexander continued to settle into the setter role as she posted 31 assists in the match.

Courtney Cohen accounted for nearly half of Troy's 50 digs as she recorded 24 on her own.

After falling in an early hole in set one at 5-2, the Trojans rattled off seven consecutive points to take a lead that they would never relinquish in a 25-22 first set victory. The first set was the Trojans best from an offensive standpoint as they posted a .300 attack percentage.

Troy was the aggressor early in the second set as Lizzie Clough started the frame with two quick service aces and worked to a 4-0 early lead. Akron would get as close as one point at 15-14, but the Trojans took 10 of the next 13 to grab a 25-17 second set win.

The Trojans would build a lead in the third set as they found themselves up by six late at 20-14. The Zips would fight back once again and get to within one at 23-22.

However, unlike Friday's tough loss to UNC Asheville, when the Trojans served for the match but fell short, they took advantage as a Von Pingel kill gave Troy the 25-23 third set win and their first victory on the young season.