Troy Downs South Alabama; Clinches Regular Season Series

Saturday, October 31

Troy, Ala.

1 p.m.

Troy University

6-4,6-4Sun Belt

South Alabama

8-10,8-6Sun Belt

South Alabama

Troy

Troy Downs South Alabama; Clinches Regular Season Series

10/31/2020 4:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Four Trojans notched double figure kills as Troy disposed of South Alabama in four sets in front of a lively crowd Saturday afternoon in Trojan Arena. Troy took possession of second place in the Sun Belt East Division standings after a 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 26-28, 25-17) victory over the Jaguars on Halloween.

Caitlin Cooper recorded 13 kills and hit a blistering .522 while Halston Hillier posted 11 kills on .478 hitting. Julia Brooks posted her fourth-straight match hitting above .300 with a 13-kill outing and a .393 hitting percentage. Cheyenne Hayes was the fourth Trojan in double figures as she recorded her second double-double of the year with 10 kills and 13 digs.

Amara Anderson had an exceptional day running the Troy attack as the junior recorded 50 assists to go along with eight digs and three kills. This marked the fourth time this season and the 18^th time in her career that she has tallied at least 50 assists.

Lacey Jeffcoat impressed once again defensively, this time with a 17-dig performance while Natalie Hummel added nine digs to the defensive effort.

The win snapped a five-match losing streak on Halloween and was Troy's first Halloween victory since 2000. With a pair of wins on the weekend, the Trojans (6-4, 6-4 SBC) have tied the overall series against South Alabama (7-10, 7-6 SBC), 28-28.

"I thought we showed a lot of grit and resilience throughout the weekend," head coach Josh Lauer said. "I think that's a testament to our team believing in one another and the energy we got from our crowd was fantastic. We had contributions from a lot of different players this weekend, playing in different roles, coming off the bench and I'm really proud of our effort."

Set One
South Alabama began the match with a 3-0 spurt before a Brooks kill and an ace from Alison Siersma brought the Trojans back to within one at 3-2. The Jaguars continued their hot start to the set and forced the Trojans' first timeout at 8-3. South Alabama led by as much as seven at 12-5 before Hummel cut the deficit to three with an ace at 12-9. Hot serving from Siersma and a Hayes kill cut the Jaguar lead to one at 16-15 to force South Alabama's first timeout of the match. Troy pulled even at 17-17 before an Anderson ace gave the Trojans their first lead at 18-17. The Trojans would go on to take the first set 25-23 behind six kills on .364 hitting from Brooks.

Set Two
Things were tight early on in the second set as the squads fought to five early ties. South Alabama separated itself with a four-point lead at 10-6 to force a Troy timeout. Troy clawed back to tie the set at 13-13 before Cooper, Hillier and Avery Cason teamed up for a timely block to give the Trojans a 16-14 lead. Another block from Cason and Hillier prompted a second Jaguar timeout at 20-15. Troy went on to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a decisive 25-16 set two victory.

Set Three
Much like set two, the third set was tight early on as the teams fought to a 9-9 tie. South Alabama once again was the first side to separate itself and led by three entering the media timeout. The Jaguars led by as many as four at 16-12 before a kill from Cason cut the deficit to one at 17-16. South Alabama pushed its lead back to three at 19-16, but a block from Anderson and Brooks narrowed the gap back to one at 19-18. Troy fended off two Jaguar set points to comeback and tie it at 24-24, but would fall just short. South Alabama extended the match with a 28-26 win in the third set.

Set Four
Troy started the set with a five-point lead after back-to-back kills from Hillier and Cooper forced a Jaguar timeout at 13-8. Troy continued its run as another kill from Hillier forced another South Alabama timeout at 16-9. A hard-hit ball from Cooper pushed the Trojan lead to eight at 18-10 before a block from Brooks and Tori Hester gave Troy its biggest lead of the afternoon at 19-10. The Trojans controlled the final set from start to finish as Troy clinched the match, 25-17.

Notable

With the win, the overall series between Troy and South Alabama is now tied 28-28.
The win snapped a five-match losing streak on Halloween and was Troy's first Halloween victory since 2000 (vs. Samford).
Troy improves to 3-1 against South Alabama this season which marks the first time since 2012 the Trojans won the regular season series over the Jaguars.
Troy improves to 19-1 inside Trojan Arena in the past two seasons.
The Trojans now sit in second place in the Sun Belt East Division and hold the tie-breaker over third place South Alabama.
Cheyenne Hayes posted her second double-double of the year and the 27^th in her career.

Up Next
Troy returns to Trojan Arena next weekend for a three-match series against Appalachian State Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.