Trojans Battle Back to Make History, Down Hokies in Four Sets

Friday, September 10

Chattanooga, Tenn.

2 p.m.

Troy University

3-3,0-0Sun Belt

Virginia Tech

5-2,0-0ACC

Virginia Tech

Troy

Trojans Battle Back to Make History, Down Hokies in Four Sets

9/10/2021 5:02:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – More history was made Friday afternoon at Maclellan Gym in Chattanooga, as the Trojans defeated Virginia Tech 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-14) for the Trojans second win over a Power Five school this season. It is the first time in program history that the Trojans have accomplished such a feat.

It is the first win over the ACC since 2013 when Troy beat Georgia Tech (3-1)

The Trojans (3-3) were led by Cheyenne Hayes, who tallied a double-double with a game-high 14 kills and 10 digs. Hayes is now 13 kills shy of being the all-time leader in kill in the rally-scoring era in program history. Ashley Guenveur, who got her second consecutive start, finished with 13 kills. Amara Anderson also recorded her second double-double of the season, had 13 digs and 44 assists, 24 more than the next closest player.

Marisa Cerhio led Virginia Tech (5-2) with 11 kills, and Logan Mosley picked up a match-high 20 digs.

"I'm really proud of the composure we showed today," head coach Josh Lauer said. "Our defense and servers really stepped up after the first set, and I thought we got stronger in each set-top to bottom just a gritty team win."

Set One: The first set saw Virginia Tech control much of the set, with Troy not leading once. The Hokies jumped out to a 15-10 lead before the Trojans called a time out. The Trojans would get within one to make it 17-16 as Julia Brooks looked to bring the Trojans back with a block and a kill in quick succession, followed by a Hayes ace. Virginia Tech would respond and once again the Trojans battled back from being down three to make it 22-23, but Virginia Tech would go on to take the set 25-21.

Set Two: After being down early again, the Trojans came back. Four straight points from the Trojans led by Guenveur, who tallied two kills in that span, tied things up at 17. A Virginia Tech timeout saw them come back out with a 3-0 run of their own, but that would be their last lead, as a 5-0 run gave the Trojans their first lead of the match. Virginia Tech looked to make things interesting, getting within one after a service ace, but Brooks and Halston Hillier had other ideas with back-to-back kills to take the set 25-22 evening the match at 1-1.

Set Three: Trojans came out with the momentum, with back-to-back Lacey Jeffcoat aces jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. From there, both teams would trade points seeing 11 ties in this set alone and six lead changes. Trojans would go on a 6-0 run with Caitlin Cooper, Hayes, and Hillier kills to make it 23-18. However, Hokies wouldn't go away easy as they made things interesting again, having a 4-0 run of their own to get within one. But as she has been doing all year, Brooks was there to finish with a kill and give Troy a 25-22 set win and a 2-1 match advantage.

Set Four: The Trojans got off to another fast start with a Hayes kill to force a Hokie timeout after another 6-0 run by Troy. The Trojans would capitalize on Virginia Tech's errors after seeing their largest lead of the match at eight. 16 digs in the set would help the defensive effort and give the Trojans the victory with a 25-14 set win. The Trojans finished with a 64 percent hitting percentage which was their highest of the match.

Up Next: Troy continues their play in the Chattanooga Classic with matchups with Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga tomorrow.