Troy Falls to No. 15 Texas State in SBC Tournament Semifinals

Saturday, November 21

Foley, Ala.

6:30 p.m.

Troy University

11-8,10-6Sun Belt

Texas State

23-2,15-1Sun Belt

Troy

Texas St.

Troy Falls to No. 15 Texas State in SBC Tournament Semifinals

11/21/2020 9:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

Foley, Ala. – Troy's season came to a close in the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the hands of No. 15 Texas State Saturday night inside the Foley Events Center. Despite taking its first-ever set from a ranked opponent, the Trojans fell in four sets to the Bobcats, 3-1 (25-17, 25-13, 22-25, 25-13).

After dropping the first two sets of the match, Troy (11-8, 10-6) responded in the third to take its first set from Texas State (23-2, 16-1 SBC) since Oct. 25, 2015. Troy bows out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament having made its second consecutive semifinal appearance.

Amara Anderson finished the season just the way she started it, recording another double-double – her seventh of the year – with 37 assists, 12 digs and three aces. Cheyenne Hayes led the Trojans offensively with 15 kills while Caitlin Cooper posted 10 on .333 hitting. Halston Hillier finished with nine kills to go along with two blocks.

Lacey Jeffcoat anchored the Trojan defensive effort with a match-high 23 digs while sophomore Ashley Guenveur recorded a season-high 14 digs on the match, 10 of which came in the first set.

The Trojans struggled to get around the Texas State block as the Bobcats finished with 16 blocks on the night and held Troy to .106 hitting. Troy couldn't find an answer for Tyeranee Scott who tallied 16 kills on .615 hitting and eight blocks to pave the way for the Bobcats.

"I'm proud of the effort our team gave tonight and throughout the entire season," head coach Josh Lauer said. "Texas State played very well and we learned a lot as a team that will only help us continue our journey to winning a Sun Belt championship in the future. I thought Caitlin, Amara, Lacey and Cheyenne did a tremendous job leading our team during the entire tournament. The best is yet to come for our team and I'm already excited for our 2021 journey to begin."

Set One
Texas State jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but Troy responded and eventually took its first lead after back-to-back kills from Cooper made it 6-5. The Bobcats took a three-point lead to force the Trojans' first timeout at 12-9 and continued their run out of the timeout to take a 16-10 lead in the set. A block from Cooper and Hillier brought Troy back to within four at 19-15 but were unable to close the gap as Texas State took the opening set, 25-17. Guenveur posted 10 digs while Hayes recorded five kills on .333 hitting in the first set.

Set Two
Two early aces from Anderson and Hayes gave Troy a 4-2 lead, but the Bobcats clawed back to take a 9-6 lead to force a Trojan timeout. Two consecutive kills from Hayes brought Troy within two at 13-11, but the Trojans were unable to get over the hump as Texas State opened a four-point lead to prompt Troy's final timeout of the set. The Bobcats closed the set on a 10-0 scoring run as they took a 2-0 lead in the match, 25-13.

Set Three
Texas State opened the third set with four-straight points before back-to-back Troy points stopped the bleeding. A 6-0 run by the Trojans, highlighted by Anderson's third ace of the match, gave Troy an 8-5 lead in the set. Texas State stopped the run and eventually tied the set at 10-10. A flurry of Bobcat errors put Troy on a 4-1 run to lead 15-12 at the media timeout. Texas State regrouped during the timely break and took a 17-15 lead over the Trojans with five consecutive points out of the timeout. Troy knotted the score at 18-18 before the teams exchanged the next six points to a 21-21 tie. A kill from Anderson, followed by back-to-back aces by Alison Siersma, put Troy at set point. Texas State would score one final point before Cooper's ninth kill of the match kept the Trojans alive and gave Troy a 25-22 set three victory.

Set Four
The Bobcats started with authority in the fourth set, racing out to a quick 8-3 lead to force an early Trojan timeout. Texas State extended its lead to seven at 12-5 to prompt Troy's final timeout of the set. The Bobcats maintained a sizable advantage throughout most of the set, holding Troy to just .053 hitting en route to clinching the match with a 25-13 set four win.

Notable

Troy took its first-ever set over a ranked opponent and its first set from the Bobcats since Oct. 25, 2015.
No. 15 Texas State is the highest ranked opponent Troy has ever played, and the fourth ranked team the Trojans have ever faced.
The Trojans made their second consecutive, and fourth ever, Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinal appearance Saturday night in Trojan Arena.
Amara Anderson recorded her seventh double-double of the season and the 36^th of her career.
Caitlin Cooper finishes the season averaging 1.07 blocks per set, which is the third-best single-season mark in program history, and the second-best in the rally scoring era.