Troy Finishes Samford Invitational 2-0 After Sweep

Sunday, September 19

Birmingham, Ala.

2 p.m.

Troy University

7-4,0-0Sun Belt

Samford

1-10,0-0SoCon

Troy

Samford

Troy Finishes Samford Invitational 2-0 After Sweep

9/19/2021 5:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Troy completed their third sweep of the season Sunday afternoon after defeating Samford in straight sets 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) to win the Samford Invitational, going undefeated over the weekend.

Troy (7-4) was led by Julia Brooks, who led the Trojans with 11 kills and four blocks on the day. Amara Anderson had her second straight match with a double-double, recording 31 assists and 11 digs. This is Anderson's third double-double of the year to share the team lead.

Samford (1-10) didn't have a single player with double-digit kills as Kenya Mcquirter led the Bulldogs with nine kills, and Kate Morgan finished with 15 digs. As a team, Samford only had a hitting percentage of .100 and 11 service errors.

"Overall, just a good weekend for our team," head coach Josh Lauer said. "We had good offensive balance, and our defense was disciplined and made plays all weekend long against two good and very well-coached teams. We will enjoy this close to our non-conference schedule and look forward to being back in Trojan Arena with our Troy Volleyball family to start conference play on Friday."

First Set: The first set saw Trojans battled back from as many as four points down. But an 8-0 run, which saw Cheyenne Hayes and Julia Brooks record three kills to push the Trojan lead to 17-12. The Bulldogs would go on a run of their own to get within two, but Caitlin Cooper took advantage of a free ball for a kill, and Anderson followed with an ace to make sure the set would go to the Trojans 25-20.

Second Set: The second set saw much more of a back-and-forth contest as Samford would have a late lead and be up 20-18 after Bulldog service ace. Cooper was there in the middle again to start the Trojan rally with two kills, followed by Alison Siersma who gave the Trojans breathing room with a cross court kill to seal the set in the Trojan's favor 25-23.

Third Set: Another close set saw 11 tie scores, including 15-15 at the media timeout. A service error by the Bulldogs gave the Trojans a 21-20 lead and gave the momentum back to Troy, who used Anderson's second ace of the match, and a Halston Hillier kill to give the Trojans the set and complete the sweep.

Up Next: Troy will begin conference play next week and welcome Texas State and UT Arlington to Trojan Arena on September 23rd and 24^th.