Trojans Cruise to Win

Friday, September 23

Troy, Ala.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Photo by: Edward Fieder

9/23/2011 8:34:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team cruised through its Sun Belt opener, downing ULM in straight sets inside Sartain Hall.

The Trojans return to the court on Sunday when Louisiana visits Sartain Hall for a 1:00 p.m. Sun Belt match. Admission to all home volleyball matches is free.

Be sure to check back with TroyTrojans.com for results and recaps. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter @TroyAthletics or become a fan on Facebook.

TROY 3, ULM 0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-13)

Natasha Kolunija paced the Trojans attack with 13 kills and a .500 attack percentage thanks to just one error. Alexandra Alexander posted 31 assists and a team-high 12 digs for a double-double. The Trojans hit .278 on the match while holding the Warhawks to .110.

Devin Von Pingel posted a team-high seven blocks as the Trojans out-blocked ULM nine blocks to four.

The Trojans took an early lead in the first set and never looked back as they downed the Warhawks 25-18. Troy out-hit ULM in the opening frame, .209 to .059 while holding the Warhawks to just eight kills. In comparison, the Trojans put down 17 kills in the first set.

The set was tied only twice with the latest coming at 2-2. ULM would stay within three as late 12-9, but the Trojans built a six point lead at 16-10 and never looked back.

The Trojans cruised through the second set as well as they posted just one error and a .310 attack percentage on their way to dropping the Warhawks, 25-14. The Trojans would lead the entire way as they jumped out to a 7-2 lead. ULM would only get as close as four points after that as they closed the gap to 12-8. However, at that point the Trojans went on a 7-1 run to pull ahead, 19-9, before closing out the set.

The third set was much of the same as the Trojans jumped out to an early 14-3 lead before cruising to a 25-13 victory. The Trojans out-hit the Warhawks once again, .360 to .156.