Troy Falls in Five-Set Heartbreaker

Friday, November 17

Foley, Ala.

4:30 p.m.

Troy University

15-13,12-4Sun Belt

James Madison

20-8,12-4Sun Belt

Troy

James Madison

11/17/2023 10:38:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Troy Athletics Communications

FOLEY, Ala. – Troy's 2023 tournament run ends in a five-set heartbreaker, 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9) against James Madison Friday evening inside the Foley Event Center in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

A historic 2023 season ends for Troy, where the program earned its best Sun Belt record in school history, including the best start at 10-0 and a No. 3 seed in the SBC Tournament.

Tori Hester stuffed the stat sheet for Troy (15-13, 12-4), picking up 26 kills, 17 digs and a pair of aces and blocks.

Defensively, James Madison (20-8, 12-4) racked up 20 blocks on the night while posting 60 kills.

Troy and James Madison went to work early in set one, trading points until Mitte Veldman grabbed an ace for the Dukes to pull out to an 11-7 advantage. Troy started a rally with James Madison errors capped off with an Amiah Butler kill, 13-12. Hester, Butler and Julia Brooks picked up kills to chip away at the Dukes and stay within a point at 17-16. James Madison built its lead back to four at 22-18 with Troy errors a block assist / kill combo from Elizabeth Helmich. Brooks had a hand in the last two Troy points, picking up a kill and a block assist at 23-20 before James Madison closed the door, 25-20, for a 1-0 lead.

Troy started hot in the second set, sparking a 6-1 run with three Sydney Austin kills and an ace from Janelle Stuempfig at the 9-5 mark. James Madison eventually claimed the lead at 16-14 on Trojan errors and two Sophie Davis kills. Hester nabbed a kill to open a 5-0 scoring rally with back-to-back Stuempfig kills to retake the lead at 23-21. Hester slammed one down to end the back-and-forth play, 25-23, to even the match at 1-1.

Like the first set, the programs started trading points before Davis got her hand on the ball to give James Madison an 11-9 lead. Troy clawed within one point from a Hester kill 13-12. The teams resumed trading points until James Madison pulled away at 20-16 on three kills and Troy errors. Butler brought the Trojans back within four with a kill at 22-18. A Stuempfig ace and kill seized Troy's last points, 24-21, before James Madison's Alexandra Kwasnik drilled one to make the match 2-1.

After JMU built an early advantage in the fourth set, Brooks brought the Trojans within one at 13-12 on two kills and James Madison errors. Hester sparked an offensive attack to deliver a 7-2 run, highlighted by six kills to reclaim the lead at 19-16. James Madison aimed to rally behind two Sophie Davis kills 22-21. However, Brooks capped off set four with back-to-back kills, forcing set five, 25-22.

Back-and-forth play ended after three straight kills put the Dukes ahead at 9-4 early in set five. Troy tried to rally behind a Jaci Mesa ace and Butler kill to bring the deficit to six, 12-6. A JMU error and a Brooks and Butler block continued the fight for Troy, 12-9. The Troy rally fell short after three straight blocks by JMU to take the victory 3-2 and send the Trojans home.

Notes

Troy on the season is now 3-3 in matches through five sets.
Janelle Stuempfig recorded her second match with over 50 assists.
Troy set a record in tournament play recording 74 kills through five sets – previously held by Southern Miss at Western Carolina 2022.
Julia Brooks ended her career with 1,416 kills, and 425 blocks. She is the only Trojan that has recorded more than 1,000 kills and more than 400 blocks in their career.
Troy recorded better statistics 74 kills, 77 digs and 62 assists as opposed to James Madison, who record 60 kills, 63 digs and 51 assists.

Stat Leaders
Kills: Tori Hester – 26
Assists: Janelle Stuempfig – 55
Block: Julia Brooks – 7
Digs: Jaci Mesa – 19
Aces: Jaci Mesa, Janelle Stuempfig and Tori Hester – 2