Trojans Grab 600th in Straight Sets

Tuesday, September 20

Troy, Ala.

6:00 p.m.

Troy University

Mercer University

Photo by: Cass Davis

9/20/2011 7:55:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – For the second time this season, the Troy volleyball team put away Mercer in straight-sets, but on Tuesday night in Sartain Hall, the win was a historic one.

The Trojans entered the match sitting at 599 victories in program history, but the 3-0 defeat of the Bears gave the Trojans the milestone 600th win. The win also gives Troy (10-4) ten wins entering conference play for the first time since 2000 when they were a member of the A-Sun Conference.

“We played well tonight,” head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “We do need to come out more focused on the match. We weren't ready to start, but once we got going we did a nice job of executing what we've worked on in practice.”

“I'm proud of the team for being part of history tonight with the 600th win,” Kirkpatrick said. “We're looking forward to continuing this through conference play.”

The Trojans return to floor this weekend as they begin Sun Belt play. ULM will visit Sartain Hall at 7:00 p.m. on Friday while Louisiana-Lafayette will come in at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Check back with TroyTrojans.com for results and recaps from the weekend. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter @TroyAthletics or on Facebook.

TROY 3, MERCER 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-17)

Troy held Mercer (4-9) to a .047 attack percentage as they cruised through three sets at .183 themselves. Breanna Cullity paced the Trojans with 12 kills while Alexandra Alexander recorded 31 assists on the night.

Natasha Kolunija led the Trojans with 17 digs while Courtney Cohen and Kelley Curran each posted double digits at 12 and 10, respectively. Brittany McClelland posted a team-high five blocks as the Trojans as a team recorded nine blocks to Mercer's five.

The first set was back-and-forth throughout as the two sides found themselves tied on nine different occasions. Mercer actually out-hit the Trojans in the frame, .115 to .109, but a late run was enough to give Troy the early advantage.

The Trojans trailed in the first set as late as 16-17, however, Troy used a four-point run to take a 20-17 lead. The Trojans grew their lead to four at 23-19, but four straight by the Bears tied things up at 23-23. With the heat on in a tied set, Brittany McClelland and Kayla Pickart provided back-to-back kills to give the Trojans the 25-23 win.

Troy was much more dominate in the second set as they hit .387 while holding the Bears to a .077 clip. The two sides were tied at 6-6, but the Trojans went on a five-point run to pull ahead 11-6 and never looked back. Troy would grow its lead to nine before the end of the set as they ran away with a 25-16 win.

The Trojans defense was just as dominate in the third set as it was in the second as Troy held mercer to a -.079 attack percentage in the final frame. Again, as the two sides were tied at 6-6, the Trojans used a run to pull ahead for good. Troy used six straight points this time to pull ahead, 12-6. Troy maintained the lead as they took the final set, 25-17.