Troy Volleyball Falls in Five-Set Thriller to Georgia Southern

Friday, October 11

Statesboro, Ga.

5 p.m.

Troy University

7-9,2-4Sun Belt

Georgia Southern

14-1,4-0Sun Belt

Troy

Ga. Southern

Troy Volleyball Falls in Five-Set Thriller to Georgia Southern

10/11/2024 8:45:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

STATESBORO, Ga. – Troy volleyball battled hard and had a resilient showing but it wasn't enough, as Georgia Southern came away with a 3-2 win against the Trojans on Friday night in the Hanner Fieldhouse.

Troy (7-9, 2-4 SBC) had a solid offensive night but could not overcome its 20 service errors and a tough Georgia Southern (14-1, 4-0 SBC) team.

Tori Hester continued to show why she is one of the best outside hitters in the conference and the country, as she recorded a match-high 22 kills and finished the two-match series in Statesboro with 42 total kills. Hester also recorded the 1,500th kill of her career on Friday. She is just the fourth player in program history to achieve that milestone. In addition to her impressive hitting, she had a team-best 13 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season. She is four digs shy of 1,000 in her career.

Olivia Kwiatkowski returned to the court for Troy for the first time since Sept. 3 at Auburn and put up an impressive performance with a career-high 16 kills on .542 (16-3-24) hitting. It was also the highest hitting percentage for a Troy player this season with a minimum of 12 kills. Amiah Butler had a .536 hitting clip against Kennesaw State on Sept. 14 in Trojan Arena.

Butler also had a good showing for Troy, as she recorded 17 kills and had 11 digs for her third double-double of the season. As a team, Troy finished the night with a .256 (66-26-156) hitting percentage. Janelle Stuempfig tied her season-high with 38 assists, while Jordan Sinness added 19.

Like Troy, Georgia Southern was impressive on offense. The Eagles hit .295 (53-15-129) and had four players record double-digit kills. Jillian Gray led the way with 14.

Georgia Southern out-blocked Troy 16-6 and was led by Lydia Seymour's eight blocks.

Set 1: Troy 25-22
The Trojans came out of the gates strong and took the early 1-0 match advantage. The Trojans jumped out to a 4-1 lead, and Georgia Southern responded, and the two sides traded points for most of the set. Tied 19-19, Troy went on a 4-0 run to take a controlling 23-19 lead. The Trojans won the set on a Butler kill.

Troy hit .432 (20-4-37) and got nine kills from Butler. The Eagles weren't as efficient on offense, but still performed well hitting .300 (11-2-30).

Set 2: Georgia Southern 25-14
The Eagles were in command of the second from the very start, as they never trailed, and the score was tied just once (1-1). The Trojans hit just .100 (10-7-30), while Georgia Southern hit a scorching .476 (11-1-21). Gray had five of her 14 kills in the second frame.

Set 3: Georgia Southern 25-22
The third set was the worst offensive showing for both sides, as Troy hit .053 (11-9-38), while Georgia Southern was at .103 (9-6-29). The Eagles jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead and forced Troy to call an early timeout. The Trojans responded well and evened things back up, before taking a 17-15 lead that led to a Georgia Southern timeout. With things even at 21, the Eagles won back-to-back points to take a 23-21 lead and closed out the set on a solo block from Maggie Sale to take a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4: Troy 25-22
With its back against the wall, Troy responded on offense as it hit .333 (17-5-36). Hester led Troy with seven kills, while Kwiatkowski had six. With things tied at 19-19, the Trojans went on a 4-1 run to grab control of the set 23-21. A Georgia Southern kill cut the Troy lead to one, but the Trojans responded with a kill from Hester and Kwiatkowski to force a winner-take-all fifth set.

The Trojans got key aces from Hester and Stuempfig to help force the final set.

Set 5: Georgia Southern 15-12
Things seem to be slipping away from Troy, as it was down 9-4, but thanks to a 6-1 run the Trojans tied things up at 10-10. The Eagles closed things out on a 5-2 run to take the set and match.

The Trojans outhit Georgia Southern .467-.333 but couldn't piece together the necessary run to pick up the win.

Quotable – head coach Josh Lauer
"I was proud of our competitive effort tonight. Kudos to Georgia Southern for making some plays at the right time that helped them end up on the right side of the win column, but I think this is a game that we can learn a lot from and gives us a chance to move forward and get better this week."

Up Next
The Trojans return home next Friday and Saturday for a pair of matches against Louisiana. Friday's match is set to start at 6 p.m., while Saturday's match will begin at 2 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+, with stats available on Troystats.com.

Notables
• For the second consecutive night Tori Hester recorded at least 20 kills, as she had 22 on Friday. She finished the two-match series against Georgia Southern with 42 total kills.
• Tori Hester also recorded the 1,500th kill of her career on Friday. She is just the fourth player in program history to achieve that milestone.
• Olivia Kwiatkowski returned to the court for Troy for the first time since Sept. 3 at Auburn and put up an impressive performance with a career-high 16 kills on .542 (16-3-24) hitting.
• Olivia Kwiatkowski's hitting percentage was the best by a Trojans this season with a minimum of 12 kills.
• Amiah Butler also had a good showing for Troy, as she recorded 17 kills and had 11 digs for her third double-double of the season.
• As a team, Troy finished the night with a .256 (66-26-156) hitting percentage.
• Janelle Stuempfig tied her season-high with 38 assists, while Jordan Sinness added 19.