Troy's Historic Season Comes to a Close in NIVC

Saturday, December 7

Atlanta, Ga.

6 PM

Troy University

23-10,10-6Sun Belt

Georgia Tech

23-8,14-4ACC

Troy

Georgia Tech

Troy's Historic Season Comes to a Close in NIVC

12/7/2019 9:43:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

ATLANTA, Ga. – Troy saw its season come to an end at the hands of ACC runner-up Georgia Tech Saturday night in front of an energized O'Keefe Gymnasium crowd. The Trojans came out firing on all cylinders and took the first set but eventually fell to the Yellow Jackets in a hard-fought match, 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-14, 27-25).

Troy finishes its 2019 campaign with a 23-10 record and a 1-1 mark in its first-ever postseason berth. The Trojans' more than doubled their win total from 2018 to 2019 and Troy's +12 differential is tied for the sixth-best turnaround in Division I. Georgia Tech (24-8) advances to the quarterfinals of the NIVC.

Caitlin Cooper made her presence felt at the net throughout the night, finishing with a career-high seven total blocks. Troy's 10 team blocks tied for the second-most in a match this season. Lacey Jeffcoat kept several key rallies alive and finished with 13 digs.

Cheyenne Hayes led the Trojans offensively with 14 kills while Ashley Guenveur hit a stellar .500 in the match. Amara Anderson notched her 13th double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs. The Trojans registered eight service aces for the second match in a row, once again led by Ashley Guenveur's three.

"What a great volleyball match tonight," head coach Josh Lauer said. "Georgia Tech is an NCAA Tournament worthy team and I'm extremely proud of the way we competed. This weekend was a total team effort and I'm extremely thankful for all of the hard work and sacrifices all our players and staff made throughout this historical season. This is a special group. I love their passion and how the care about one another. The future is very bright for Troy Volleyball and the best is yet to come."

Set One
Hayes picked up right where she left off with two quick kills to give Troy an early 2-0 lead. The teams went back-and-forth early in the set until Georgia Tech opened up a four-point 11-7 lead. Troy flipped the script, however, using a 5-0 run to tie it at 14-14. The Trojans found themselves with a four-point lead at 21-17 to force Georgia Tech's last timeout of the set, but the Yellow Jackets would score five of the next six points to tie it again at 22-22. Troy would regroup after a timeout and finish on a 3-1 run to clinch the opening set, 25-23.

Set Two
Troy came hot out of the gates in the second set, racing out to a 6-1 lead to force an early Georgia Tech timeout. The Yellow Jackets would later use a 4-0 run to pull even at 10-10. The teams exchanged points to an 18-18 tie until Georgia Tech stepped in front by two at 20-18. Troy was unable to close the gap as the Yellow Jackets tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 set two win.

Set Three
Georgia Tech was the squad with a fast start in the third set of the match, jumping out to an 8-3 lead to force an early Troy timeout. The Yellow Jackets later pushed their lead to eight at 12-4 to force another Trojan timeout. Troy struggled to stifle the Georgia Tech offense, which hit .407 in the set, as the Yellow Jackets took set three, 25-14.

Set Four
The Yellow Jackets gathered an early 4-1 lead in set four, but Troy rallied off a 4-0 run to take the lead 5-4. Troy led by four at 12-8 but Georgia Tech quickly pulled back to within one at 13-12. Halston Hillier found a seem on the Yellow Jackets' side and pushed Troy's lead back to three at 16-13. A block from Cooper and Hayes kept the Yellow Jackets at bay, 22-19, but two quick Georgia Tech points cut the lead to one at 22-21. Troy let its late lead slip away as the Yellow Jackets fended off two Troy set-points to clinch the match with a 27-25 set four win.