Troy University Athletics
Friday, September 25
Troy, Ala.
11 a.m.
Troy University
1-0,1-0Sun Belt
3
vs
0
Georgia State
1-2,0-1Sun Belt
1
2
3
F
Georgia St.
19
19
14
0
Troy
25
25
25
3
Troy Sweeps Doubleheader Against Georgia State to Open Season
9/25/2020 10:26:00 PM | Volleyball
Troy, Ala. – Troy bested Georgia State twice Friday in Trojan to begin the season 2-0 for the second straight year. The Trojans downed the Panthers, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14) in the first match of the day and took the night cap, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23).
Amara Anderson recorded a program-record 58 assists in the later contest, the most in a four-set match in school history. Cheyenne Hayes led all scorers in the first match of the day with 15 kills while Julia Brooks tied her career high of 17 kills on .600 hitting in game two of the day. Lacey Jeffcoat totaled 49 digs on the day after an impressive career-high 30 dig performance in the day's final match.
"It was good first day," head coach Josh Lauer said. "I am really proud of our effort down the stretch. Georgia State came out ready to play in that second game, they're a fiery group and it was fun to have a competitive match. I thought Amara was all over the place and Lacey was unbelievable tonight. Overall, I'm just really proud of this group and it feels great to get started with a couple of wins."
Match One: 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14)
Troy held Georgia State to .027 hitting en route to its third straight season-opening win, a dominant sweep in the first match of the day. Hayes led all scorers with 15 kills while Anderson recorded her first double-double of the season with 35 assists and 11 digs. Both teams were physical at the net, but the Panthers out-blocked Troy 10-8.
Jeffocat anchored Troy defensively with a match-high 19 kills while Caitlin Cooper and Halston Hillier posted five blocks apiece.
Leah Wilcox led the Panthers with eight kills and five blocks while Meisheia Griffin added five kills and three blocks. Ryan Spicer-Gordon and Ava Vlkovic paced Georgia State defensively with 14 and 11 digs, respectively.
Match Two: 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23)
Halston Hillier set the tone early in the match with a team-high five kills in the first set. The teams went back-and-forth early before Troy gained a 15-11 advantage at the media timeout. The Trojans – who held Georgia State to .033 hitting in the first set – remained firmly in control throughout the set before a Hayes kill ended it, 25-20.
Hayes found her groove with a team-high seven kills in the second set, but it wouldn't be enough to hold off the Panthers. Georgia State responded by hitting .361 in set two with just three errors. The Panthers jumped out to a 13-5 lead before a Troy rally eventually evened things up at 24-24. A kill from Griffin put Georgia State in front before a Troy attack error gave the Panthers the set, 26-24.
Troy would go on to take the final two sets, 25-20 and 25-23 behind eight kills from Hayes in the third set and seven kills from Brooks in set four. The Trojans hit .201 over the last two sets compared to just .141 by the Panthers.
Lacey Jeffcoat finished with 30 digs while Alison Siersma tied a career high with eight kills while adding two aces. Amara Anderson ran the Trojan offense efficiently with 58 assists and just one setting error. Julia Brooks tied her career high with 17 kills while Hillier approached double-digit kills with nine on the night.
Notable
Troy closes out the series against Georgia State Saturday at 1 p.m. in Trojan Arena. The match will be streamed on ESPN+
Amara Anderson recorded a program-record 58 assists in the later contest, the most in a four-set match in school history. Cheyenne Hayes led all scorers in the first match of the day with 15 kills while Julia Brooks tied her career high of 17 kills on .600 hitting in game two of the day. Lacey Jeffcoat totaled 49 digs on the day after an impressive career-high 30 dig performance in the day's final match.
"It was good first day," head coach Josh Lauer said. "I am really proud of our effort down the stretch. Georgia State came out ready to play in that second game, they're a fiery group and it was fun to have a competitive match. I thought Amara was all over the place and Lacey was unbelievable tonight. Overall, I'm just really proud of this group and it feels great to get started with a couple of wins."
Match One: 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14)
Troy held Georgia State to .027 hitting en route to its third straight season-opening win, a dominant sweep in the first match of the day. Hayes led all scorers with 15 kills while Anderson recorded her first double-double of the season with 35 assists and 11 digs. Both teams were physical at the net, but the Panthers out-blocked Troy 10-8.
Jeffocat anchored Troy defensively with a match-high 19 kills while Caitlin Cooper and Halston Hillier posted five blocks apiece.
Leah Wilcox led the Panthers with eight kills and five blocks while Meisheia Griffin added five kills and three blocks. Ryan Spicer-Gordon and Ava Vlkovic paced Georgia State defensively with 14 and 11 digs, respectively.
Match Two: 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23)
Halston Hillier set the tone early in the match with a team-high five kills in the first set. The teams went back-and-forth early before Troy gained a 15-11 advantage at the media timeout. The Trojans – who held Georgia State to .033 hitting in the first set – remained firmly in control throughout the set before a Hayes kill ended it, 25-20.
Hayes found her groove with a team-high seven kills in the second set, but it wouldn't be enough to hold off the Panthers. Georgia State responded by hitting .361 in set two with just three errors. The Panthers jumped out to a 13-5 lead before a Troy rally eventually evened things up at 24-24. A kill from Griffin put Georgia State in front before a Troy attack error gave the Panthers the set, 26-24.
Troy would go on to take the final two sets, 25-20 and 25-23 behind eight kills from Hayes in the third set and seven kills from Brooks in set four. The Trojans hit .201 over the last two sets compared to just .141 by the Panthers.
Lacey Jeffcoat finished with 30 digs while Alison Siersma tied a career high with eight kills while adding two aces. Amara Anderson ran the Trojan offense efficiently with 58 assists and just one setting error. Julia Brooks tied her career high with 17 kills while Hillier approached double-digit kills with nine on the night.
Notable
- With two wins today, Troy now owns the all-time series against Georgia State 18-17.
- Head coach Josh Lauer is now 3-1 in season openers at Troy. This marks the second straight year the Trojans have begun the season 2-0.
- The Trojans have now won three straight season-openers under Lauer.
- Three Trojans tied or set career highs in the night cap.Lacey Jeffcoat registered a career-best 30 digs, Alison Siersma tied her career high of eight kills while Julie Brooks recorded 17.
- Amara Anderson registered over 50 assists for the 13th time in her career with 58 assists on the night.
Troy closes out the series against Georgia State Saturday at 1 p.m. in Trojan Arena. The match will be streamed on ESPN+
Team Stats
GSU
TROY
Kills
26
43
Errors
23
18
Attempts
110
119
Hitting %
.027
.210
Points
37
55
Assists
24
41
Aces
1
4
Blocks
10
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballMH
/ VolleyballMH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
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