Troy Volleyball Wraps-Up Gamecock Invitational

Saturday, August 26

Columbia, S.C.

12 P.M.

Troy University

0-2

South Carolina

2-0

Troy

South Carolina

Photo by: Colin Edwards

Troy Volleyball Wraps-Up Gamecock Invitational

8/26/2017 5:53:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Grace Bolin

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – The Troy volleyball team dropped in its final day of the Gamecock Invitational hosted by South Carolina. In the first match of the day, Troy (0-3) fell to South Carolina (2-0) in three sets 25-18, 25-20 and 25-22 and lost to Mercer 3-1, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23.

South Carolina 3, Troy 0
While The Trojans outperformed the Gamecocks in total kills, aces, assists and digs, they couldn't find timely answers to keep the Gamecocks at bay.

The South Carolina offense hit .310 and held the Trojans to a .202 attack percentage. Senior Lauren Long led the Trojans with nine kills on 14 total attacks earning a .500 hitting percentage. Sophomore Belle Waldrop had another solid game for Troy as she posted eight kills. Defensively, Savannah Moore put up four total blocks followed by newcomer Jenni Young with three.

Troy get off to an early lead against the Gamecocks in all three sets, but couldn't maintain control of the tempo as strong offensive efforts propelled South Carolina over the Trojans.

With South Carolina one point away from the win, the Trojans fought back to win three straight points, but a kill from South Carolina junior Jesse Turner ended the match in favor of the Gamecocks.

Mercer 3, Troy 1
Facing a one-set deficit, the Trojans struck back in set two to even the match at 1-1. Troy continued to find answers to Mercer's offense and took advantage of the momentum swing as three straight points put them up 15-11. The Bears tried to force their way back into the set late, but an ace from Kiara Barrett and two kills gave Troy the second set.

Both teams rallied back and forth in the third set, but four straight points from Mercer in the middle of the set put the Trojans down 17-12. Each team battled at the end of the set, but Mercer took the win as the Trojans looked for a fourth set victory to force a fifth set.

Three back-to-back kills from Mercer's Paige Alsten put the Bears up 15-13, but the Trojans rallied back to even things at 16-16 and even took a lead late in the set. Even at 20-20, the Trojans called timeout, but just couldn't break through Mercer's relentless offense as the Bears earned the fourth set and match victory.

Freshman Cheyenne Hayes had her best performance so far as a Trojan as she contributed 10 kills, 14 points and four aces.

NOTEWORTHY

Troy posted 10 aces against Mercer as Hayes led with four and Bethany Cullity and Kiara Barrett each had two.
Senior assists leader Reina Terry made her first appearance of the year playing in three sets for the Trojans.
Waldrop is averaging 3.08 kills per set to lead the team and has 37 kills in 85 total attacks.

UP NEXT
The Trojans will travel south to Kennesaw State for a Sunday match set for 1 p.m. CT. The Owls are coming off of an 18-11 season and 12-2 in ASUN conference play. KSU won its first ever regular season ASUN championship in 2016.

Troy looks to earn a series lead against Kennesaw State as the series is tied at 2-2. Troy last faced the Owls in 2012 when they fell 3-1.

Senior Katarina Morton was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year last season and earned the preseason honor this year. The Owls return 13 players from last year's championship squad including five starters.

Fans can watch the live stream of the match on ESPN3 and follow along with live stats.

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