Solid Offensive Performance Leads Troy Past Marshall

Thursday, October 6

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

9-8,3-2Sun Belt

Marshall

7-10,1-4Sun Belt

Marshall

Troy

Solid Offensive Performance Leads Troy Past Marshall

10/6/2022 9:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score PDF Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – With 60 kills on the night; Troy volleyball came out swinging in their four-set victory over Marshall (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15) Thursday night. Three Trojans had double-digit kills, while Marshall only had one and finished with 15 less as a team.

"I thought we came out really focused," head coach Josh Lauer said. "We were on top of our offensive execution and solid all-around defensively. Marshall is a competitive team that put us on our heels in set three. But we stabilized ourselves and made some adjustments, and really bounced back in set four to gain the victory.

Julia Brooks recorded a season-high 18 kills in the victory as she sits 12 kills away from 1000 in her career. Brooks had a match-high .378 and saw two blocks to finish with 19.5 points.

Troy (9-8, 3-2) saw strong freshman play from Amiah Butler and Jaci Mesa as Butler came away with 17 kills, and Mesa had a match-high 20 digs. Amara Anderson and Tori Hester continued to compete for the team lead in a double-double as Anderson finished with a match-high 48 assists and 14 digs. Hester had 16 kills on the night with 14 digs as well.

Lydia Montague led Marshall (7-10, 1-4) with 12 kills, and Katilyn Gehler finished with 14 digs. The Herd had 10 more blocks, then Troy finished the match with 15 but had 36 errors on the night.

Set One: After a Butler kill had given Troy a 1-0 lead in the set, Troy never trailed or even saw a tie with their opponents in the first set. An Isabella service ace had built a 12-4 lead for the Trojans, but Marshall fought their way back to make it 20-19. With back-to-back, Hester started four straight points for Troy to close the set and give Troy the lead. The Trojans hit .400 in the set.

Set Two: Five ties in the second saw a much closer match, but again, Troy never trailed in the set after Halston Hillier got things started with a kill. Marshall had 13 kills in the set, the most of the four sets. After getting within a point at 23-22, Hillier once again got a kill for Troy to push it to set point before Troy went up 2-0 after an error by the Herd.

Set Three: Marshall would not give the Trojans their second consecutive sweep of the season as they held Troy to a .150 attack percentage and took the third set. Troy had its chances to get the sweep as they led 21-20, but Marshall connected for the last five points to go to a fourth set.

Set Four: Just as they did in set one, Troy totaled 17 kills in the set, attacking at a .359 clip. A 6-6 tie would be the last time the two teams were evens, as Troy would eventually run away with the set scoring five straight points after seeing a 20-14 lead. Brooks, who had been swinging well all night, finished the match with her 18^th kill.

Up Next: Troy and Marshall wrap up the series on Friday, October 6, at 6 p.m. from Trojan Arena.