Troy Volleyball Takes on Samford in Exhibition

TROY, Alabama- A new era of Troy volleyball has arrived with first year head coach Josh Lauer at the helm. The Trojans will travel to Birmingham, Ala., to compete against the Samford Bulldogs in the lone exhibition match of the 2017 season. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the Pete Hanna Center following Troy's Fan Day.

Last season, the Trojans fell short of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but look to bounce back with a new coaching staff and three returning seniors leading the way.

Seniors Lauren Long, Reina Terry and Avalon Nero will lead the squad this season, but Troy also returns eight other letter winners including setters Kiara Barrett, Alisha Hinrichs and Jordyn Saulsberry, defensive specialist Bethany Cullity and outside hitter Belle Waldrop.

The Trojans welcome five newcomers to this year's roster with four freshmen and one transfer. Up front, Caroline Kramer and Madison Friedman are middle hitters with freshman Cheyenne Hayes and sophomore transfer Jenni Young protecting the outside. Freshman SaraGrace Wilson earns her place as a defensive specialist to round out the incoming class.

Samford finished 21-14 last season and is picked to finish third in the Southern Conference in 2017.

SERIES INFO:
SAMFORD
Overall Series: Troy leads 21-12
            at Troy: 10-3
            at Samford: 7-9
            at Neutral: Troy leads 4-0
Last Meeting:
           Aug. 26, 2011– Samford won 3-0

NOTEWORTHY:
• First year head coach Josh Lauer and assistant Brian Muesenfechter come to Troy after several years as associate head coach and volunteer assistant at Georgia, respectively.

• Terry led the Trojans with 841 assists last season and has 2,176 career assists which rank her seventh all-time in the Troy record books, and fifth in the rally scoring era.

• Nero returns with her powerful serve that led the team with 37 aces and ranked 10^th in the Sun Belt last season.

QUOTABLE:
"The girls are, first off, really excited about Fan Day tomorrow," Lauer said. "It is a chance for them to shake some hands and for people to get introduced to this new team. The girls are excited to see some fans and sign some posters. It is going to be the official kick-off for the season."

"The girls are ready to play someone else," Lauer said. "They are tired of playing each other, and this will be a great opportunity for us to see where we are. It will really give us the opportunity to come back and know what we need to fine tune before opening weekend. Samford is a great team and it will be a test for us."

PLAYER TO WATCH:
Sophomore Logan Page is the team's returning kill leader. She posted 207 kills for the Trojans last season. She also led the team in blocks in 2016 tallying 112 total blocks. Page was the only Trojan to play in all 121 sets last season.

For more on Troy volleyball, visit TroyTrojans.com and follow @TroyTrojansVB on Twitter.

Troy University Athletics

Troy Volleyball Takes on Samford in Exhibition

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Players Mentioned

Kiara Barrett

Bethany Cullity

Madison Friedman

Cheyenne Hayes

Alisha Hinrichs

Caroline Kramer

Lauren Long

Avalon Nero

Logan Page

Jordyn Saulsberry

Reina Terry

Belle Waldrop

SaraGrace Wilson

Jenni Young

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