Troy Volleyball Falls in Sun Belt Opener

Friday, September 22

Arlington, Texas

6:30 P.M.

Troy University

5-10, 0-1SBC

UT Arlington

7-7, 1-0SBC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Troy	21	26	15	18	1
UTA	25	24	25	25	3

9/22/2017 9:28:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Grace Bolin

Box Score (PDF)

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Troy volleyball team (5-10, 0-1 Sun Belt) opened conference play on the road against the UT Arlington Mavericks (7-7, 1-0 Sun Belt). After a gutsy effort, the Trojans dropped 3-1 on Friday night at the College Park Center.

Both sides were evenly matched as the Trojans and Mavericks were both hitting a .184 percentage until late in the set. Troy got on the board first with a 3-1 advantage, but a seven-point run from UT Arlington swung the momentum in the opposite direction. Troy fought its way back to tie the set at 11-11. The Trojans stayed close, but the Mavericks broke away with a three-point run late to win the set 25-21.

The Trojans got out of the gates strong again in the second set, taking a 7-3 lead over the Mavericks behind three strong kills from freshman Cheyenne Hayes. UT Arlington slowly crawled back their way back. As Troy faced set point, the Mavericks took three straight points to tie the set at 24-24, but Troy shut them down winning the set 26-24.

A dominating 25-15 win in the third set from the Mavericks gave UTA a 2-1 match lead. Troy got out in front, but a six-point run for UT Arlington shifted the momentum in the Mavericks' favor as the Mavs posted a .320 attack percentage. Several more runs from the host team gave UT Arlington the third set win in the match.

The Trojans rallied back, staying close with the Mavs in the fourth set. A five-point run for Troy put the Trojans within two late in the set, but the Maverick offense came back firing to take four straight points to take the set and the match.

Cheyenne Hayes and Belle Waldrop spearheaded the efforts for the Trojans tonight each posting 11 kills, while newcomer Jenni Young added 10. Defensively, three Trojans put up double-digit digs. Libero Bethany Cullity led with 13, followed by Hayes with 12 and Kiara Barrett with 11.

NOTEWORTHY
• Troy out-killed the Mavericks 50-46, but at the net, UT Arlington gained some ground as they out-blocked the Trojans 9-4.
• Last year's returning service leader, Avalon Nero returned to the court and recorded one of Troy's two aces on the night. SaraGrace Wilson added the second. Troy ranks second in the conference in service aces with 87.
• Only three players, Savannah Moore, Hayes and Logan Page have made the start in every match this season for the Trojans.
• UTA now take a 7-1 series lead against the Trojans.

UP NEXT
Troy continues conference play on the road as it travels to San Marcos, Texas to face Texas State on Sunday, September 24 at 12 p.m. The Trojans will then return home to host Georgia Southern and Georgia State, September 29 and 30. Both matches are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start time.

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