Chanticleers Topple Trojans in Four Sets

Friday, November 15

Conway, S.C.

5:30 PM

Troy University

21-7,10-5Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina

22-5,12-3Sun Belt

Troy

Coastal Carolina

11/15/2019 8:35:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

CONWAY, S.C. – Troy struggled with Coastal Carolina's physical play at the net for much of the night as the Trojans dropped a tough road match to the Chanticleers Friday night at the HTC Center. The Chanticleers recorded 15 blocks en route to a 3-1 (36-38, 25-19, 29-27, 25-18) victory over the Trojans.

Troy took a thrilling first set that contained 14 ties, 38-36, but dropped the next three sets to Coastal Carolina. The Trojans (21-7, 10-5 Sun Belt) remain in third place in the Sun Belt East Division race while Coastal Carolina (22-5, 12-3 Sun Belt) solidified their spot atop the standings with one regular season match remaining.

Cheyenne Hayes had an impressive night, posting her eighth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 17 digs. Halston Hillier (11), Ashley Guenveur (10) and Julia Brooks (10) each recorded double-digit kills while Caitlin Cooper added nine to round out Troy's well-balanced attack. Guenveur led the Trojans at the service line with three aces in the match.

Amara Anderson once again put together an All-American worthy performance, averaging 12.75 assists per set for a total of 51 on the night. Lacey Jeffcoat was solid on defense once again, finishing with 17 digs on the night.

"It was a hard-fought match by both teams tonight," head coach Josh Lauer said. "I thought our effort was good, but we needed to put a little more pressure on [Coastal Carolina's] serve receive than we did tonight. I think that was the difference in the match."

Set One
Coastal Carolina jumped out to a pair of three-point leads early in the first set, but the Trojans always managed to pull back to within one. The Chants were able to build up a 14-9 lead after their third ace of the set. Troy finally pulled even at 22-22 before Coastal Carolina stepped back in front 24-22. Troy tied the match once again at 24-24 and it was back-and-forth from that point on as the teams traded points for the better part of 20 minutes. The Trojans were the first to gain a two-point advantage at 38-36 to steal an intense first set.

Set Two
The Chants responded in a big way early in the second set, racing out to a 12-6 lead over the Trojans. Coastal Carolina built its lead to ten at 20-10 before Troy rallied off three-straight points. The Trojans never gave up in the set as a Hayes kill cut the Chants' lead to five at 24-19. The lead was too much to overcome, however, as Coastal Carolina took set two, 25-19.

Set Three
The two teams traded points throughout a tight third set that contained 14 ties and four lead changes. Troy finally gained a two-point advantage at 21-19 before the Chants railed off two quick points to tie it again. The Trojans responded well after a timeout to take a 22-21 lead, but let Coastal Carolina take a 25-24 lead. The teams went beyond the 25-point mark for the second time of the match as the Chants took the third set, 29-27.

Set Four
Coastal Carolina was once again the early aggressor in the fourth set taking a 10-8 lead. The Chants later increased that lead to four at 12-8 to force Troy's first timeout of the set. The Trojans responded with two-straight points out of the timeout but struggled with Coastal Carolina's block and led the gap increase to five at 15-10. Troy was gritty once again and cut the lead to 15-13 but could never overcome the deficit, falling in the fourth set, 25-18.

Up Next
Troy has a day off before it heads to Boone, N.C for its regular season finale against Appalachian State Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT.