Troy Rallies to Win Conference Opener Over Arkansas State

Thursday, September 26

Troy, Ala.

6:30 PM

Troy University

9-2

Arkansas State

8-3

Arkansas St.

Troy

Troy Rallies to Win Conference Opener Over Arkansas State

9/26/2019 9:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy stumbled in the early goings, but rallied to win its Sun Belt opener over Arkansas State Thursday night in Trojan Arena, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14). This marks just the second win in school history over the Red Wolves and the first since 2013.

The Trojans (11-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) held Arkansas State (9-4, 0-1 Sun Belt) to a season-low 14 points in the final set to secure their first win in a conference opener since 2014. Entering tonight's match, Arkansas State led the Sun Belt in opponent hitting percentage, holding to teams to an average of .142 per match. Troy hit well above that mark, registering a .299 hitting percentage on the night.

Cheyenne Hayes (16 K/10 DIG) and Ashley Guenveur (10 K/14 DIG) each recorded a double-double for the Trojans while Amara Anderson assisted on 47 points. Halston Hillier proved to be a valuable offensive weapon once again with 13 kills on the night. Lacey Jeffcoat remained solid defensively with 12 digs while Caitlin Cooper added a team-high three blocks.

"That was fun, what a great environment to play in," head coach Josh Lauer said. "It was a little rocky at first, but I thought we got back to our fundamentals. The crowd stayed with us, our serving came around and I think that was the difference in the second set."

Set One
Arkansas State were the early aggressors in the match, jumping out to a quick 13-7 lead over the Trojans. Troy would fight back to within two at 18-16 on a kill from Hayes but wouldn't be able seal the deal. The Red Wolves took the first set, 25-21 on a kill from Macey Putt. Hayes led the Trojan offense in the opening set with five kills while Cooper and Hillier each added three.

Set Two
Troy came alive in the second set, racing out to a 4-0 lead to force an early Arkansas State timeout. The Trojans would keep rolling through the timeout, however, extending their lead to 11-5. The Red Wolves would respond with a well-timed run of their own to tie the match at 13-13, and again at 16-16. It was all Trojans from that point on as Troy took the set off a kill from Guenveur, 25-20. Hillier was an offensive spark in the second set, finding her mark for five kills.

Set Three
Another hot start propelled the Trojans in set three as Troy took an early 4-1 lead, but the Red Wolves would bounce back at 5-5. It was back-and-forth through most of the set until Troy extended its lead to four at 22-18. Hayes came up big with a monster kill to give Troy the set, 25-21. Guenveur and Jeffcoat anchored the defense with five digs for the Trojans.

Set Four
Troy put up a dominating performance in the final stanza, holding Arkansas State to a .000 hitting percentage. The Trojans jumped out to a 14-5 lead and extended it further at 20-9. Troy clinched the match with a convincing 25-14 win in the fourth set.

Up Next
Troy returns to action Friday, September 27 at 6:30 p.m. against Little Rock. That match is available on ESPN+.