Troy University Athletics
Thursday, November 14
Troy, Ala.
6 p.m.
Troy University
vs
App State
Troy Volleyball Hosts App State for Final Regular Season Matches
11/13/2024 8:43:00 AM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team wraps up its 2024 regular season slate with a pair of home matches against App State this Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. On Thursday, Troy will recognize Tori Hester for breaking the program's all-time kill record, before honoring its four seniors on Friday.
Troy (12-12, 7-7 SBC) is coming off a pair of five-set wins last week at Southern Miss. The Trojans were led in both matches by Hester, who finished the series with 63 total kills – the most in a two-match span in program history.
App State (16-7, 10-2 SBC) has won its last six matches, including two against Marshall last weekend. The Mountaineers sit atop the East Division standings with one final weekend to go.
Match Information
The Matchup: App State at Troy
When: Thursday, November 14 – 6 p.m. | Friday, November 15 – 6 p.m.
Where: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Hesterrific
On her 20th kill of Friday night's match, Hester became the sole leader in kills in program history with 1,672, surpassing Cheyenne Hayes. On Thursday, Hester had the second-most kills in a match in program history as she recorded 33 on 100 swings. She followed that remarkable performance on Friday with 30 kills. In addition to leading the program in kills, she is now the standalone leader in kills per set (3.99) and points (1,929.5).
On Tuesday morning, she was named the Sun Belt Women's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. She ranks in the top 10 nationally in a plethora of offensive categories including attacks pet set (4th), kills per set (6th), points (7th), kills (7th) and total attacks (8th). She has recorded double-digit kills in 46 straight matches dating back to last season. It remains the longest-known active streak in Division I women's volleyball.
Back to its Winning Ways
After a tough middle portion of the conference schedule that saw Troy go 1-7, the Trojans are in the midst of a four-match winning streak after sweeping its series against ULM and Southern Miss.
The streak was crucial for the Trojans, who needed the strong play to solidify itself into the conference tournament that will begin next week in Foley, Ala.
In three of the four wins, Troy outhit its opponent and outkilled its opponents.
Defensively, the Trojans are in one their better stretches of the season as they have recorded double-figure block assists in each of the last four matches, including 16 in two of them. Leading the blocking charge this season has been Ella Broadhead with 55.0, while Amiah Butler has 46.0, and Sydney Austin and Tori Hester have 43.0.
Libero Jaci Mesa leads Troy in digs this season with 269 (2.99 d/s) and is just six away from 1,000 in her career. She has 15 or more digs in five of the last six matches and set her career-high with 24 a couple of weeks ago at Arkansas State.
Scouting App State
The Mountaineers clinched the Sun Belt East Division after its wins at Marshall. Addison Heidemann is the reigning Sun Belt Women's Volleyball Setter of the Week after posting 99 assists to lead the conference for the weekend. Maya Winterhoff continues to rank in the top 40 in the NCAA in hitting percentage at (.381). She has 265 kills on the season and is top 10 in the conference in blocks per set and total blocks.
The last meeting between the two programs came in the Sun Belt Tournament last year, where the No. 3 seeded Trojans defeated No. 6 App State. Troy leads the all-time series 10-9.
Follow Along
Fans can follow all the action by streaming the two matches on ESPN+, following live stats at Troystats.com and by following Troy volleyball on social media.
Notables
• Josh Lauer is in his eighth season at the helm of Troy and boasts a 119-111 record while leading the Trojans.
• In the newest RPI ranking Troy comes in at No. 123, eight spots higher than its previous ranking (131). It's good for eighth in the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt has six teams in the top 100 (Ga. Southern, App State, Arkansas State, Texas State, James Madison and Coastal Carolina).
• Troy played seven matches against teams who qualified for the 2023 Division I NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship.
• Troy is averaging 12.87 kills per set this season, which is sixth in the Sun Belt Conference and 125th in the country.
• Leading the offensive charge this season has been outside hitters Tori Hester and Amiah Butler. Both players have earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.
• Hester has reached a number of milestones this season. She is the fourth player in program history – second in the rally era – to have 1,500 kills and 1,000 digs. She is also the programs leader in kills, points and kills per set.
• Hester's 4.96 kills per set is first in the conference and sixth nationally. She also leads the Sun Belt in points (515.5), kills (451), points per set (5.66), attacks per set (13.16) and total attacks (1,198).
Troy (12-12, 7-7 SBC) is coming off a pair of five-set wins last week at Southern Miss. The Trojans were led in both matches by Hester, who finished the series with 63 total kills – the most in a two-match span in program history.
App State (16-7, 10-2 SBC) has won its last six matches, including two against Marshall last weekend. The Mountaineers sit atop the East Division standings with one final weekend to go.
Match Information
The Matchup: App State at Troy
When: Thursday, November 14 – 6 p.m. | Friday, November 15 – 6 p.m.
Where: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Troystats.com
Hesterrific
On her 20th kill of Friday night's match, Hester became the sole leader in kills in program history with 1,672, surpassing Cheyenne Hayes. On Thursday, Hester had the second-most kills in a match in program history as she recorded 33 on 100 swings. She followed that remarkable performance on Friday with 30 kills. In addition to leading the program in kills, she is now the standalone leader in kills per set (3.99) and points (1,929.5).
On Tuesday morning, she was named the Sun Belt Women's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. She ranks in the top 10 nationally in a plethora of offensive categories including attacks pet set (4th), kills per set (6th), points (7th), kills (7th) and total attacks (8th). She has recorded double-digit kills in 46 straight matches dating back to last season. It remains the longest-known active streak in Division I women's volleyball.
Back to its Winning Ways
After a tough middle portion of the conference schedule that saw Troy go 1-7, the Trojans are in the midst of a four-match winning streak after sweeping its series against ULM and Southern Miss.
The streak was crucial for the Trojans, who needed the strong play to solidify itself into the conference tournament that will begin next week in Foley, Ala.
In three of the four wins, Troy outhit its opponent and outkilled its opponents.
Defensively, the Trojans are in one their better stretches of the season as they have recorded double-figure block assists in each of the last four matches, including 16 in two of them. Leading the blocking charge this season has been Ella Broadhead with 55.0, while Amiah Butler has 46.0, and Sydney Austin and Tori Hester have 43.0.
Libero Jaci Mesa leads Troy in digs this season with 269 (2.99 d/s) and is just six away from 1,000 in her career. She has 15 or more digs in five of the last six matches and set her career-high with 24 a couple of weeks ago at Arkansas State.
Scouting App State
The Mountaineers clinched the Sun Belt East Division after its wins at Marshall. Addison Heidemann is the reigning Sun Belt Women's Volleyball Setter of the Week after posting 99 assists to lead the conference for the weekend. Maya Winterhoff continues to rank in the top 40 in the NCAA in hitting percentage at (.381). She has 265 kills on the season and is top 10 in the conference in blocks per set and total blocks.
The last meeting between the two programs came in the Sun Belt Tournament last year, where the No. 3 seeded Trojans defeated No. 6 App State. Troy leads the all-time series 10-9.
Follow Along
Fans can follow all the action by streaming the two matches on ESPN+, following live stats at Troystats.com and by following Troy volleyball on social media.
Notables
• Josh Lauer is in his eighth season at the helm of Troy and boasts a 119-111 record while leading the Trojans.
• In the newest RPI ranking Troy comes in at No. 123, eight spots higher than its previous ranking (131). It's good for eighth in the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt has six teams in the top 100 (Ga. Southern, App State, Arkansas State, Texas State, James Madison and Coastal Carolina).
• Troy played seven matches against teams who qualified for the 2023 Division I NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship.
• Troy is averaging 12.87 kills per set this season, which is sixth in the Sun Belt Conference and 125th in the country.
• Leading the offensive charge this season has been outside hitters Tori Hester and Amiah Butler. Both players have earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.
• Hester has reached a number of milestones this season. She is the fourth player in program history – second in the rally era – to have 1,500 kills and 1,000 digs. She is also the programs leader in kills, points and kills per set.
• Hester's 4.96 kills per set is first in the conference and sixth nationally. She also leads the Sun Belt in points (515.5), kills (451), points per set (5.66), attacks per set (13.16) and total attacks (1,198).
Players Mentioned
Middle Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
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