Trojans Continue to Roll, Knock Off FIU

Friday, September 28

Troy, Ala.

7:00 p.m.

Troy University

FIU

Photo by: Tyler Myers

9/28/2012 9:38:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – On the heels of a historic win last weekend, the Troy volleyball team continued to roll as they defeated FIU at Sartain Hall on Friday night, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23). The win marks the first for Troy over FIU in 14 tries against the Panthers since Troy joined the Sun Belt in 2005.

“I thought we played really well at times,” Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. “We played inconsistently at times though, but we had some girls step up when we really needed them to.”

The Trojans (11-7, 2-1) recorded 56 kills as a team, led by a balanced attack as Devin Von Pingel, Blair Winston and Kayla Pickart all posted 14 kills while Alexandra Alexander picked up 51 assists, the second-most for her this season. Pickart's season-high 14 kills came off the bench as the sophomore entered the match in the second set.

Troy hit .178 as a team while holding the Panthers (4-11, 1-2) to a .111 mark. Courtney Cohen led the way with 20 digs while Alexander also had 10 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Alexander also posted four blocks while Von Pingel led the way with five blocks.

“It was a total team win,” Kirkpatrick said. “We had some girls struggle offensively, but they helped defensively. We're always glad to have a win, especially for the first time against a team.”

Marija Prsa led the Panthers with 13 kills while Carolyn Fouts led all players with 22 digs. Silvia Carli posted seven blocks for the Panthers who had 13.0 as a team.

The first set was close early with the two sides finding themselves tied seven different times, but with FIU leading 13-12, the Panthers went on a 6-1 run to take control of the set at 19-13. The Trojans were able to cut it two at 21-19, but FIU scored four of the next five to take the 25-20 win.

After hitting just .048 in the first set, Troy rebounded to hit .229 in the second frame thanks to 14 kills and just six errors. Troy took control early as a 12-8 Trojans lead forced an FIU timeout. Troy maintained the 18-14 lead to force another Panthers timeout before eventually winning the set, 25-20.

Troy topped its second-set effort with a .375 mark in the third set while building a five-point lead at 14-9. The Trojans extended the lead to seven at 19-12 before winning 25-17.

The Trojans held FIU to a match-low .071 attack percentage in the fourth set as they jumped out to an big lead at 11-4, however, FIU didn't make it easy as the Panthers battled back to tie the score at 15-15. After Troy extended the lead to 23-17, the Panthers again fought back at 23-21 before Troy took the clinching set, 25-23.

The Trojans return to the floor on Saturday when they host Florida Atlantic at Sartain Hall. First serve is set for 5 p.m. and admission is FREE. The Owls lost at South Alabama on Friday night.

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