Troy Falls to App State in Five Sets

Sunday, November 17

Boone, N.C.

11:30 AM

Troy University

21-8,10-6Sun Belt

Appalachian State

13-16,9-7Sun Belt

Troy

Appalachian St.

11/17/2019 2:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

BOONE, N.C. – Troy dropped a five-set heart breaker to Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Convocation Center. The Mountaineers overcame a 2-1 Troy lead to down the Trojans, 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12).

Troy finishes its season with a 21-8 overall record and a winning percentage of .724, the highest in school history. The Trojans' 10 conference wins are tied for the most in program history. Appalachian State improves to 9-7 in league play and 13-16 overall.

Cheyenne Hayes became the third Trojan ever, and first since Rachel Hassan (2002-03), to record 400 kills in back-to-back seasons. The junior registered her ninth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 14 digs.

Freshman Ashley Guenveur also posted a double-double, her eighth of the season, with 14 kills and 12 digs. Halston Hillier (14), Julia Brooks (11) and Caitlin Cooper (11) each had double-digit kill performances to complete Troy's well-rounded attack.

Amara Anderson tallied a season-high 58 total assists, good for a solid 11.60 assist per set average. The sophomore also had 13 digs for her 12^th double-double of the season while adding two aces to her impressive performance.

Lacey Jeffcoat remained Troy's anchor on defense, finishing with 16 digs and three assists.

"It was another hard-fought match," head coach Josh Lauer said. "Even though this was a difficult weekend, the best is yet to come for our team. I'm extremely proud of what this team accomplished in the regular season and we are excited for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament."

Set One
Set one was tight early as the teams were tied at 3-3, 5-5 and 6-6. App State was the first to create some separation after taking a 15-11 lead. Troy would claw back, using a 5-0 run to take a late 22-21 lead. The Mountaineers countered with a 4-0 run of their own to take the opening set, 25-22. Hillier and Cooper each recorded four kills in the first set to lead the Trojan offense.

Set Two
Troy dominated the second set from start to finish. The Trojans came out firing on all cylinders, racing out to an 8-1 lead. Troy pushed its lead to nine at 15-6 and later to 12 at 22-10. Hayes went over the 400-kill threshold on the season with five kills in the second set. Troy cruised to a 25-13 set two victory to tie the match at one set apiece.

Set Three
Hillier set the tone early with a kill to give Troy the first point of the set. The Trojans took an early 7-4 lead but allowed App State to tie things up at 7-7 with a 3-0 run. The Mountaineers found themselves with a two-point advantage at 13-11 before Troy took a two-point lead of their own at 17-15. The teams were tied late in the set at 21-21 until Troy scored four of the final six points to win, 25-23.

Set Four
App State got off to the start it needed to stay alive in the match, jumping in front 13-9. A Kill from Emma Longley pushed the Mountaineer lead to five at 17-12 and App State didn't look back. An ace from Sydney Farthing clinched the set for the Mountaineers, 25-17.

Set Five
The Mountaineers continued their momentum in the fifth set, grabbing a quick 5-2 advantage. A timely 4-0 Trojan run put the Trojans back in front, however. App State still found itself with a one-point lead at the halfway point, leading Troy 8-7. The Mountaineers pushed their lead to three at 12-9 and it proved to be too much for Troy to overcome. The Trojans fought off two App State match points before eventually falling 15-12.

Up Next
Troy gears up for the Sun Belt conference tournament in San Marcos, Texas from Nov. 21-24. The Trojans will be the No. 4 seed, their highest seed since 2012 when Troy was the No. 2 seed.