Trojans Perfect to Close out Classic City Clash

Saturday, August 27

Athens, Ga.

12 p.m.

Troy University

1-1,0-0Sun Belt

Santa Clara

1-1,0-0WCC

Troy

Santa Clara

Trojans Perfect to Close out Classic City Clash

8/27/2022 6:56:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

ATHENS, Ga. – Troy volleyball found the win column not once but twice Saturday at the Classic City Clash after winning in a five-set thriller against Santa Clara (25-10, 22-25, 20-25, 25-21,15-10) and wrapping up the day with a win against Chattanooga in four sets (25-16, 28-30, 25-16, 25-14).

"Very proud of our team's competitive bounce back today," head coach Josh Lauer said. "Tori Hester was phenomenal, and Amiah Butler stayed aggressive all day and really shined as well. I was also really proud of the resilience of our passers and how well different players stepped up when called upon, particularly Jaci Mesa and Jessica LoPresti. Truly a full team effort today."

Tori Hester had a career day totaling 49 kills over both games, including a new personal best of 26 kills against Santa Clara and a double-double against Chattanooga with 23 kills and 12 digs.

After taking the first set against Santa Clara, the Broncos won two straight sets before Troy was able to win the fourth and final set to give the Trojans their first win over a West Coast Conference team in program history.

Senior Amara Anderson totaled 109 assists throughout the two matches, and she led all players with 55 assists in the first match and 54 in the second. Ashley Guenveur had the first double-digit dig performance of the season with 10 against the Broncos. Caroline Darracott and Isabella Mitchell joined Hester in the double-digit dig column during the second match, with Darracott finishing with 14 and Mitchell with 11. Troy had 21 service aces on the day.

Freshman Amiah Butler also performed stellar as she finished with 19 kills and a team-high .455 hitting percentage in the first match. Her 19 kills are the most by a Trojan freshman since Guenveur had 21 in 2019.

Troy vs. Santa Clara:

Set 1: Hester got the first kill of the match, and she and the rest of the Troy team were off and running from there. After a 1-1 tie, the Trojans lead the rest of the way, hitting at a season and match-high .682 clip. The Trojans saw a nine-point run in the middle of the set in which Butler had four kills alone. Mitchell had back-to-back aces to put Troy up 15, and just as she had started the set, Hester ended it with an ace.

Set 2: Santa Clara improved their hitting percentage from .174 to .357 and came away with three blocks. Troy held a 13-9 lead, but a 6-1 run for the Broncos turned the momentum around. Hester was everywhere again. A few errors gave Santa Clara the lead.

Set 3: The Trojans ran into some trouble in the third set as they hit a match low of .115. The Broncos were sound defensively with 11 digs in the set compared to Troy's six. After the media timeout, the Broncos used a four-point run to make it 22-17, proving to be the difference giving Santa Clara a two-set advantage.

Set 4: Despite a match-high six errors, the Trojans overcame the mistakes and even the match-up as Butler and Hester each recorded five kills. Troy was the first team to reach 20 after an Anderson ace. Six points were the largest difference between the two sides in the set, and while the Broncos were able to fight off three set points, Hallston Hillier sent it to the fifth and final set.

Set 5: Hester took over with eight kills alone in the set, totaling more than Santa Clara had combined. With the set knotted up at 10, the Trojans finished the Broncos with five straight points, including three Hester kills.

Troy vs. Chattanooga:

Set 1: It was all Troy in the first set as they led from the beginning and didn't give up. Five different Trojans recorded at least one kill, and Troy, at one point, saw a 15-1 run and led 20-3 to coast to a victory easily.

Set 2: Chattanooga didn't see their first lead until the second set when they led 14-13. The battle continued back and forth as Troy looked to take the second set, but the Mocs fought off two set points. Then, tied at 25, the teams traded blows before Chattanooga took the set 30-28.

Set 3: The Trojans made sure that was all that came from Chattanooga, with Troy holding their opponents to a .069 hit percentage in the set in part to four blocks, half of which came from Julia Brooks. Troy, as a team, finished with 11. A 5-0 run late in the set by the Trojans put it out of reach.

Set 4: Troy came out swinging, looking to put the match way with a .455 hitting percentage. After the set tied at 6-6, Troy, back-to-back aces by Anderson, started a six-point surge in which Jessica LoPresti added to her stat sheet where she finished the match with six kills, the most in two years for the senior.

Up Next: Trojans will continue their road trip next weekend when they participate in the Tiger Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. They will face LSU, Penn State, and Iowa State.