Siersma Tallies Career High as Troy Falls to Georgia Southern

Thursday, November 12

Statesboro, Ga.

5 p.m.

Troy University

10-5,10-5Sun Belt

Georgia Southern

3-10,3-10Sun Belt

Troy

Ga. Southern

Siersma Tallies Career High as Troy Falls to Georgia Southern

11/12/2020 7:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

STATESBORO, Ga. – Troy's six-match win streak came to a halt Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse at the hands of Georgia Southern. The Trojans hit just .110 on the match as the Eagles evened the weekend series, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21).

In the loss, Alison Siersma turned in a career-high 11 kills along with four digs and a block, while Avery Cason posted six kills on .286 hitting. Setter Amara Anderson assisted on 34 of Troy's 37 kills and registered five digs. Libero Lacey Jeffcoat anchored the Trojan defensive efforts, notching her second 14-dig performance of the day.

Freshman Savannah Poling made her first-career start in a match where several young Trojans (10-5, 10-5 SBC) saw significant playing time. Classmate Tabitha Wheeler tallied six kills, six digs and two blocks while sophomore Jessica LoPresti posted five kills and two blocks.

Mya Wilson led the Eagles (3-9, 3-9 SBC) offensively with 14 kills on the match. Georgia Southern was the more physical team at the net, out blocking the Trojans, 13-3.

"I thought our effort was good tonight, kudos to Georgia Southern on a hard-fought match and for making plays late in each set," head coach Josh Lauer said. "I thought both Ali and Avery had very solid matches and were composed and efficient offensively. We want to have a short memory tonight and bounce back tomorrow with renewed focus and energy to finish the regular season strong."

Set One
Poling registered her first-career kill to put the Trojans in front 4-3, but the squads split the first 10 points to a 5-5 tie. Georgia Southern was the first side to separate itself with a 3-0 spurt before LoPresti halted the Eagle run with her first kill of the match. The Eagles then used a 4-0 outburst to force the first Troy timeout of the set at 13-8. A Siersma kill cut the score to 16-13, but Georgia Southern regained control of the set to force Troy's final timeout at 21-15. The Eagles held the Trojans to .157 hitting en route to taking the first set, 25-20.

Set Two
Once again, the two sides split the first five points of the match before Siersma struck a hard-hit kill, her fourth of the match, to put the Trojans in front 6-5. The Eagles created the first separation of the set with a 10-7 lead, but Troy was able to mini run of its own, capped off by a kill from Cason, to even the set back up at 11-11. A Georgia Southern attack error gave Troy a one-point lead entering the media timeout. The squads were deadlocked at 17-17 before back-to-back Eagle points prompted a Troy timeout at 19-17. LoPresti and Wheeler teamed up for a block out of the timeout, but the Trojans couldn't string together a run as they fell in set two, 25-21.

Set Three
Georgia Southern stepped out in front 4-2 before the Trojans rattled off a 3-0 run to take a 5-4 lead. Troy then took a two-point lead at 9-7 after a back-row attack from Ashley Guenveur found its mark. The Eagles used a 6-0 outburst to take a three-point, 15-12 lead into the media timeout. Georgia Southern led by as many as five at 17-12, but an ace from Anderson pulled the Trojans back to within three at 18-15. A Cheyenne Hayes ace fended off match point for a moment, but Georgia Southern went on to clinch the sweep with a 25-21 set three victory.

Notable

Junior Alison Siersma posted a career-best 11 kills on the match. Six Trojans have set or tied single-match career highs in kills this season.
Freshman Savannah Poling made her first-career start and turned in three kills and a block.
Cheyenne Hayes has now played in 110 career matches, the fourth-most among active Division I players.

Up Next
Troy and Georgia Southern will close out the regular season in Statesboro, Ga., Friday at noon (CT).