Fourth Set Heroics Propel Troy over UT Arlington

Friday, November 20

Foley, Ala.

7:30 p.m.

Troy University

11-7,10-6Sun Belt

UT Arlington

11-7,10-6Sun Belt

UT Arlington

Troy

Fourth Set Heroics Propel Troy over UT Arlington

11/20/2020 11:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

FOLEY, Ala. – Troy gutted out a gritty four-set victory over UT Arlington Friday night inside the Foley Events Center behind a season-high 23 kills from Cheyenne Hayes. The Trojans secured their second-straight Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinal appearance with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 20-25, 26-24) win over the Mavericks.

The win forced a 1-1 tie between all three teams in Pool B, but Troy advances to the semifinals by virtue of the percentage of sets won tiebreaker.

Troy's (11-7, 10-6 SBC) offense was firing on all cylinders early in the match as the Trojans hit .358 in the first two sets before UTA's (11-7, 10-6) defense slowed the attack in the third set. Ultimately, Troy used a 7-1 run to overcome a 23-19 deficit to clinch a winner-take-all fourth set, 26-24.

Hayes' 23 kills on .348 hitting are the most ever by a Trojan in a Sun Belt Conference tournament match. Behind Hayes, Troy was fairly balanced with Caitlin Cooper (9 K, 5 BLK), Halston Hillier (9 K, 3 BLK), Julia Brooks (8 K, 2 BLK) and Ashley Guenveur (7 K, 11 DIG) all making sizable contributions.

Natalie Hummel tied a career-high with four service aces on the night, including a key ace to bring the Trojans within one at 23-22 in the final set. Junior setter Amara Anderson finished with 53 aces, nine digs, four kills and two aces as she ran the offensive attack with great efficiency.

Lacey Jeffcoat made several key plays and recorded a team-high 12 digs while Isabella Mitchell added nine digs to anchor the Trojan defense.

"So proud of our team tonight," head coach Josh Lauer said. "They showed tremendous composure when it mattered most. Natalie was clutch from the service line all night and Cheyenne showed why she is one of the top players in our conference. I thought our defensive effort tonight was great and Amara did a very good job keeping our offense balanced and in tempo. It was a great team victory."

Set One
The Troy offense started fast out of the gate, registering eight kills on its first 10 swings. The Trojans built a six-point, 13-7 lead behind four early kills from Cooper. UTA then used a 4-0 run to cut the Troy lead to two to prompt a Trojan timeout at 13-11. The Trojans forced the Mavericks' first timeout at 19-15 and a second timeout after a solo block from Brooks made the score 21-15. Anderson spread the ball around early, finding five different Trojans for kills as Troy hit an impressive .400 en route to taking the opening set, 25-18.

Set Two
Errors plagued both sides early in the second set as the teams found themselves tied at 4-4. Troy gained the first advantage of the set at 9-6 and later 11-7 after an ace from Anderson forced the first UTA timeout of the set. Another ace from Anderson helped push Troy's lead to 15-7 and then an ace from Hayes made the score 17-10. The Trojans hit .316 and fired three aces to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-15 victory in set two.

Set Three
Troy stepped out to an early 7-4 lead in the third set, but three-straight points from the Mavericks deadlocked the squads at 7-7. The Trojans gained a 10-7 advantage, but UTA responded with a 3-0 run of their own to tie the match at 10-10 to force a Troy timeout. The sides exchanged points to a 14-14 tie until UTA's defense began to slow the Trojan offense midway through the set. A kill from Hayes tied the match at 18-18, but UTA was able to take seven of the final nine points to win the set, 25-20.

Set Four
Natalie Hummel fired her third ace of the match to give Troy a quick 4-0 to prompt an early Maverick timeout in set four. The Trojans still led by four at 8-4 before UTA used a 3-0 spurt to draw within one at 8-7. The Mavericks knotted up the set again at 9-9 and eventually took a 12-10 lead to force a Trojan timeout. Cooper registered a kill and then teamed up with Anderson for a block to give Troy the lead back at 14-12 and prompt a UTA timeout. Once again, the Mavericks responded with a 3-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 16-15. A pair of kills from Hillier kept Troy in the set until UTA gained a 23-19 lead on the Trojans. Clutch serving from Hummel and five kills from Hayes propelled Troy during a 7-1 to win the set and match, 26-24.

Notable

Troy's four-set win over UTA marked the Trojans' first-ever Sun Belt tournament win over the Mavericks.
The Trojans will make their second-straight semifinal appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. This is the first time since 2012/2013 that Troy has made back-to-back semifinal appearances.
Cheyenne Hayes' 23 kills are the most ever by a Trojan in a Sun Belt Conference tournament match. It is just the second ever 20-kill performance by a Trojan in the tournament.
Natalie Hummel tied a career-high with four service aces on the night.
Troy set to play No. 15 Texas State in the semifinals which will be just the fourth time ever, and just the first time since 2012, that the Trojans will face a nationally ranked opponent.

Up Next
Troy will face off with No. 15 Texas State Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the Foley Events Center in a rematch of last year's semifinal match that the Bobcats won, 3-0.