Troy Volleyball Splits to Close Southern Miss Invitational

Saturday, August 31

Hattiesburg, Miss.

1:30 p.m.

Troy University

1-2

Jackson State

0-3

Jackson State

Troy

Photo by: Edward Fieder

Troy Volleyball Splits to Close Southern Miss Invitational

8/31/2013 4:03:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Matt Mays

Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After falling to Southern Miss in their first match of the day, the Troy volleyball team rebounded to sweep Jackson State, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago, to finish the Southern Miss Invitational with a 1-2 record.

Senior libero Courtney Cohen posted 25 digs on the day to give her 62 on the year and mover her to within 148 of breaking the Troy career record. Cohen was the lone all-tournament selection for Troy (1-2).

The Trojans and Golden Eagles played a tight first set that went the way of the tournament host. Southern Miss then went on to sweep Troy, 3-0 (28-26, 25-20, 25-14).

In their second match of the day, the Trojans held the Tigers to a .045 attack percentage in a three-game sweep, 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-18) of Jackson State.

The Trojans return to the court on Monday when they host Georgia Southern at Trojan Arena at 2 p.m. The match marks the Trojans' first inside the new facility.

Game One – Southern Miss 3, Troy 0

After dropping a tight first set, the Trojans didn't recover in a 3-0 (28-26, 25-20, 25-14) loss to tournament host Southern Miss (2-0). The Trojans hit under .200 for the match at .185 while the Golden Eagles hit .296.

Marija Zelenovic led Troy with 10 kills and a .333 attack percentage, but she was the lone Trojan with double-digit kills while Southern Miss had three attackers over 10 kills.

Cohen continued picked up 14 in the match, making her the only Trojan over the 10-dig mark.

The two sides were tied 11 times in the first set, including at 26-26 before Southern Miss used two kills to put away the first set. After hitting .250 in the opening frame, the Trojans hit just .200 and .061, respectively, in the next two of the 3-0 loss.

Lydia Bonner led Southern Miss with 13 kills while Mary Pursell posted a match-high 21 digs.

GAME TWO – Troy 3, Jackson State 0

The Trojans rebounded from their first match by holding Jackson State under .100 attack percentage as a team in a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-18) win over a Tiger team that played in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

Zelenovic again paced the Trojan offense, this time with 16 kills and just three errors for a .464 attack percentage. Alexandra Alexander posted 33 assists for the Trojans who hit .242 as a team.

Troy held Jackson State to an .045 attack percentage as a team, including a -.062 percentage in the first set. Cohen posted 11 digs as a part of Troy's defensive effort while the Trojans posted 6.0 team blocks.

The Trojans win over Jackson State is their second in as many seasons as Troy defeated JSU at home last season.

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