Trojans Fall to Georgia Southern in Four Sets

Sunday, August 26

Athens, Ga.

9:00 a.m.

Troy University

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Cass Davis

Trojans Fall to Georgia Southern in Four Sets

8/26/2012 11:52:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – The Troy volleyball team dropped its final contest of the Benson Hospitality Bulldog Invitational on Sunday, falling to Georgia Southern, 3-1 (25-11, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23). The Trojans must rebound quick as Auburn is set to visit Sartain Hall on Tuesday night.

Troy (0-3) was led offensively by true freshman Blair Winston who posted 11 kills with just three errors on the day for a .348 attack percentage. Breanna Cullity also hit .348 with nine kills and one error on 23 attempts while also recording a team-high four blocks.

Courtney Cohen registered a match-high 30 digs for the Trojans, the third 30-dig performance of her career, while Alexandra Alexander posted 20 assists to pace Troy.

Georgia Southern (2-1) was led by Moriah Bellissimo with 19 kills while Kate Van Dyke recorded 48 assists. The Eagles hit .303 as a team while Troy posted a .187 team attack percentage.

“We saw some really bright spots today, but we also some really poor play,” Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “Once we become a consistent team, we'll be in good shape.”

The Trojans came out flat, falling into a 13-1 hole in the first set as Georgia Southern ran away with the opening frame. However, Troy responded to their .000 attack percentage in set one with a .361 mark in the second set.

The Trojans knocked down 15 kills to just two errors in the second frame as they scored five of the last eight points to break open a set that had seen 13 ties and take a 25-22 win.

The Eagles jumped out to an early five-point lead at 10-5 in set three as they coasted the rest of the way to a third-set win. Georgia Southern seemed poised to cruise through the fourth set as well, as they led late, 19-12, but Troy showed some fight and nearly forced a fifth set.

The Trojans went on a three-point run to cut the score to 19-15 before cutting the Eagles' lead to three at 22-19. Troy pulled within one at 24-23 but Georgia Southern got a kill from Van Dyke to close out the match.

“We've got some work to do, but we can get it done,” Kirkpatrick said. “And we need to get done before Tuesday. It's always good to play at home, and we've got a quality opponent coming in. We need to play like we're desperate for that first win.”

The Trojans return home on Tuesday when Auburn visits Sartain Hall. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. and admission is FREE.

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