Trojans Continue to Roll, Win Twice

Friday, September 2

Macon, Ga.

1:00 p.m. (est)

Troy University

Mercer University

9/2/2011 5:53:00 PM | Volleyball

The Trojans took two matches at the Bear Brawl on Friday

By: Matt Mays

Mercer Box Score
Norfolk State Box Score

MACON, Ga. – The Troy volleyball team continues to roll as they took two matches to open the Bear Brawl at Mercer on Friday. Troy dropped the host Mercer Bears in straight-sets before also downing Norfolk State at the University Center.

Troy (4-2) has now won four straight matches for the first time in nearly two years. In those four wins, the Trojans have yet to drop a set.

The Trojans will look to capture the Bear Brawl title on Saturday when they take on Tennessee State.

Check back with TroyTrojans.com for results and recaps. Fans can also follow Troy University Athletics on Twitter @TroyAthletics or become a fan on Facebook.

TROY 3, MERCER 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-11)

The Trojans dropped the host Bears in straight-sets to open their weekend on Friday afternoon. Troy was on the brink of losing the first set, but fought off defeat and went on to roll through the rest of the match.

Devin Von Pingel, Natasha Kolunija and Breanna Cullity each posted double-digit kills for Troy. Von Pingel led the squad with 13 and a stellar .571 attack percentage. The junior had just one error on the match.

Troy as a team hit .240 while holding Mercer (0-5) to a .056 team clip. The Trojans out-killed the Bears 46-30.

Five different Trojans posted double-digit digs, including 20 by both Lizzie Clough and Courtney Cohen. Alexandra Alexander posted her second double-double of the season as she recorded 36 assists and 12 digs.

Brittany McClelland tied a career-high with six total blocks while the Trojans registered a season-high 12.0 total blocks as a team.

The first set seemed to be going to Mercer when the Bears had three set points at 24-21. The Trojans however did not shy away as Kayla Pickart posted a kill to fight off the first set point. The Trojans would then ride Clough's serve for four straight points to take the first set 26-24.

The Trojans would carry the momentum through the next two sets.

Troy never trailed in the second frame and ran out to an early 9-3 lead before maintaining the six-point lead throughout the entire set, winning it 25-19.

Troy would run away with the third set, posting a .361 attack percentage to Mercer's -.022. The Trojans were up 15-9 when they scored 10 of the next 12 points to close out the Bears, 25-11.

TROY 3, NORFOLK STATE 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19)

Von Pingel led the Trojans once again as her eight kills were tops on the squad in their fourth consecutive straight-set win.

Norfolk State (0-2) actually out-killed the Trojans, 35-34, but Troy posted a .191 attack percentage, compared to a .040 mark by the Spartans.

Cohen was the only Trojan with double-digit digs as she posted 17. Kolunija tied a career-high with six total blocks in the match. Alexander recorded 28 assists in the match.

The first set was tight throughout, as Troy held a slim lead at 16-15, however, the Trojans went on a six-point run to pull ahead, 22-15, before taking set one 25-20. Offensively, the first set was Troy's worst as they hit just .098.

Troy jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the second set before NSU would fight back to get within one at 16-15. The Trojans stopped the Spartans momentum as they won nine of the last 10 points to take set two, 25-16.

The Trojans would save their best offensive set for last as they posted a match-high .290 attack percentage in the third frame. The two sides played a tight set early, but Troy broke a 7-7 tie by scoring four straight points, taking an 11-7 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. The Trojans took the final set, 25-19 to finish off the Spartans.