Trojans Get Pivotal Sweep Over North Texas

Friday, October 12

Troy, Ala.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

North Texas

Photo by: Cass Davis

Trojans Get Pivotal Sweep Over North Texas

10/12/2012 9:12:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team continued the best Sun Belt start in school history with a pivotal sweep of North Texas, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 26-24) on Friday night at Sartain Hall.

The Trojans (14-8, 5-2) have now won four straight at home, including three straight to open Sun Belt play. The 5-2 start to league play is the best in Troy's history as they are just two wins away from matching a program-best seven Sun Belt wins.

“We played really well and we knew this was a really big match,” Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “North Texas is a really good team, but we stuck to our gameplan and made some plays when we needed them.”

Troy, who sits in second place in the Sun Belt East Division, hit .306 on the night against a North Texas team that entered allowing opponents to hit just .154, the best mark in the Sun Belt.

Troy was led by Kayla Pickart who posted 12 kills and just two errors for a .476 attack percentage. Blair Winston was also in double figures with 10 kills while Mailande Parker posted nine and Devin Von Pingel had eight.

Alexandra Alexander posted 38 assists and tied for the team lead with eight digs.

North Texas (18-8, 4-3) was led by Carnae Dillard who posted 12 kills and Courtney Windham who had 10. Shelby Tamura posted a match-high 12 digs.

The Trojans came out swinging well from the start as they hit .387 in the first set thanks to 16 kills and no errors. Pickart led Troy with six kills and no errors on seven attempts in the frame.

Troy forced an early Mean Green timeout as the Trojans raced out to a 10-4 lead. North Texas would not get any closer than five the rest of the way in the opening frame as the Trojans cruised to a 25-18 win.

The Troy defense was the story in the second set as the Trojans held the Mean Green to a .061 attack percentage, but the set was close with five ties.

Troy hit .333 in the final set as they posted 15 kills, but needed to fight back. With Troy leading 23-20, the Mean Green fought back to take a 24-23 lead. However, a Von Pingel kill turned the tide and sparked a three-point run that gave Troy the clinching 26-24 win.

Troy returns to the floor on Saturday when it hosts ULM. The Trojans and Warhawks are set for a 7 p.m. first serve at Sartain Hall. ULM lost at South Alabama on Friday night.

For more information on Troy Athletics, be sure to visit www.TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.