Troy Finishes Good Opening Weekend at 3-1

Saturday, August 30

Clemson, S.C.

10 a.m.

Troy University

3-0

USC Upstate

1-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
USC Upstate	25	13	25	12	9	2
Troy	20	25	21	25	15	3

Photo by: Jonah Enfinger

8/30/2014 7:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Matt Mays

Box Score (USC Upstate) | Box Score (Clemson)

Clemson, South Carolina – The Troy volleyball team played two tight matches on Saturday and finished its opening weekend with a 3-1 record at the Big Orange Bash hosted by Clemson at Jervey Gym. After two wins on Friday, the Trojans defeated USC Upstate, 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-12, 15-9), before falling to Clemson, 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 26-24, 25-19).

The Trojans (3-1) dominated the fourth and fifth sets against USC Upstate to come from behind in that match. After winning the first set against Clemson for the second straight season, Troy saw the Tigers make big runs at the end of the final three sets in a hard fought match.

Marija Zelenovic and Blair Winston were named to the Big Orange Bash All-Tournament team. Zelenovic averaged 3.46 kills/set and hit .279, while Winston averaged 2.93 kills/set and hit .291 on the weekend.

The Trojans return to action on Monday when they host Southern Miss at Trojan Arena at 1 p.m. Troy will also host the Trojan Invitational beginning on Thursday when Mercer, Jacksonville State and Alabama A&M visit Trojan Arena.

TROY 3, USC UPSTATE 2

The Trojans dropped the first set, their first lost set of the young season, but rebounded to take a 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-12, 15-9) win from USC Upstate in the Trojans' third match of the weekend.

After hitting over .400 in both of Friday's matches, Troy hit .275 in Saturday's opening match. That mark would've tied for the third best percentage a season ago. Troy had just 15 attack errors in the match.

The Trojans dominated the three sets they won, including the fifth when they scored six straight to take an early 7-2 lead that the Spartans (1-2) couldn't overcome.

Zelenovic led three Trojans in double-figure kills with 18. Winston posted 14 with just three errors on 25 attempts for a .440 attack percentage. Symone Shaw recorded 12 kills and just three errors.

Troy dominated the front line and tied a rally-scoring era, school record with 15.0 total team blocks. Kiah Cheatham led the way with eight blocks while Darby Griff had six.

Tineille Waggoner recorded 34 assists, mostly in the first three sets. True freshman Reina Terry made her debut for the Trojans and recorded most of her 18 assists in the fourth and fifth sets.

Ali Dowdall posted a team-high 18 digs while Madeleine Bouillion posted 14 and Kelley Curran recorded 12.

CLEMSON 3, TROY 1

Troy and Clemson faced off in the final match of the Big Orange Bash on Saturday evening with the tournament title on the line. Troy won the first set, but Clemson won the match of unbeaten teams, 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 26-24, 25-19).

The Tigers (4-0) won seven of the final nine points in the second set, the last four points in the third set and the final five points in the fourth set to take three tight sets. In the second set, Troy had two set points, up 24-22, before Clemson scored four straight.

Winston led the Trojans with 13 kills while Zelenovic posted 10. However, the pair combined for 17 of Troy's 30 attack errors, more than the team had in the first three matches of the weekend combined.

Terry made her first start of the season for the Trojans and recorded 36 assists. Dowdall again led the way on the back line with 15 digs, while Terry posted the Trojans' first double-double of the season with 10 digs.

Troy again posted double-digit team blocks, this time with 13.0, led by Zelenovic's six and five apiece from Cheatham and Griff.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook at YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.