Troy University Athletics
Thursday, November 21
Foley, Ala.
1:30 p.m.
Troy University
vs
Georgia State
Troy Volleyball Opens the Sun Belt Tournament Against Georgia State
11/20/2024 3:05:00 PM | Volleyball
TROY, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team begins its hunt for a Sun Belt title on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament against Georgia State at the Foley Events Center. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m.
Troy went 5-1 overs it final six matches to secure the No. 4 seed in the West Division. On the other side of the court will be the No. 5 seed out of the East Division, Georgia State. Thursday will be the first meeting between the program since November of 2021.
Match Information
The Matchup: No. 5E Georgia State (16-12, 7-9 SBC) vs. No. 4W Troy (13-13, 8-8 SBC)
When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 | 1:30 p.m.
Where: Foley, Ala. | Foley Events Center
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Taking Home Some Hardware
On Wednesday afternoon, the Sun Belt Conference announced the 2024 season awards, which featured a heavy dose of Tori Hester. The senior outside hitter from Salisbury, N.C., was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Sun Belt. She is the first Troy player to win an individual postseason Sun Belt award and is the just the fourth player in the conference's history to be named both Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in the same season.
Hester finished the regular season in impressive fashion and will look to keep it rolling during the conference tournament. She led the SBC in kills (508), points (577.5), kills per set (5.08), points per set (5.78) and service aces (40). Nationally, she was top six in kills, points, kills per set and points per set.
While Hester has impressed all year, the Trojans have also gotten key contributions offensively from freshman hitter Kalina Calivllo, who has stepped up massively the last few weeks as Amiah Butler has missed time due to injury.
Calvillo finished the regular season third on the team in kills with 191. She recorded 10 or more kills in eight of the last nine matches.
In addition to Calvillo, a plethora of other Trojans have stepped to record impactful kills at the outside hitter position as of late, including Sara Bates, Maleah Howe and Sophie Sparks.
Troy has also gotten some quality play this season from its middles. Ella Broadhead has 43 kills to her name this year and leads the team in blocks with 55.0. Sydney Austin has contributed 44 kills and 47.0 blocks, while Audrey Worthington has 45 kills and 41.0 blocks.
In the passing department Janelle Stuempfig continues to be a staple of the Trojan offense, as she leads the team with 683 assists (6.83 a/s) while also contributing 53 kills. Jordan Sinness also has 340 assists on the season.
Jaci Mesa leads Troy in digs with 284 and eclipsed the 1,000-career dig mark during Thursday's five-set match against App State. Hester is right behind her with 252 digs and had 11 double-doubles (kills-digs) on the season to lead Troy.
Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State has won six of their past ten conference matches. The Panthers rank third in conference in team kills (1,380) and in team assists (1,306), and second in service aces (172). Keionna Mackey leads the team in kills with 327 on the season.
Troy leads the all-time series 16-7. The Trojans won the last matchup 3-2 on Nov. 13, 2021, in Atlanta, Ga.
Notables
• Josh Lauer is in his eighth season at the helm of Troy and boasts a 120-112 record while leading the Trojans.
• Tori Hester was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference on Wednesday after putting together one of the most dominant offensive seasons in the Sun Belt, the country and in program history.
• Hester finished her regular season with 508 kills (5.08 k/s), which leads the Sun Belt and is fourth in the country. It's Hester's second time recording 500-plus kills in a season (2022) and it's the third most kills in a season by a Troy player. She had 522 in 2022, while Rachel Hassan's 616 in 2002 is still the program record.
• Hester was also named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday morning, her second-consecutive time winning the honor and third time on the season.
• In the newest RPI ranking Troy comes in at No. 111, 12 spots higher than its previous ranking (123). It's good for seventh in the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt has six teams in the top 100 (Ga. Southern, Arkansas State, App State, Texas State, Coastal Carolina and James Madison).
Troy went 5-1 overs it final six matches to secure the No. 4 seed in the West Division. On the other side of the court will be the No. 5 seed out of the East Division, Georgia State. Thursday will be the first meeting between the program since November of 2021.
Match Information
The Matchup: No. 5E Georgia State (16-12, 7-9 SBC) vs. No. 4W Troy (13-13, 8-8 SBC)
When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 | 1:30 p.m.
Where: Foley, Ala. | Foley Events Center
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Taking Home Some Hardware
On Wednesday afternoon, the Sun Belt Conference announced the 2024 season awards, which featured a heavy dose of Tori Hester. The senior outside hitter from Salisbury, N.C., was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Sun Belt. She is the first Troy player to win an individual postseason Sun Belt award and is the just the fourth player in the conference's history to be named both Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in the same season.
Hester finished the regular season in impressive fashion and will look to keep it rolling during the conference tournament. She led the SBC in kills (508), points (577.5), kills per set (5.08), points per set (5.78) and service aces (40). Nationally, she was top six in kills, points, kills per set and points per set.
While Hester has impressed all year, the Trojans have also gotten key contributions offensively from freshman hitter Kalina Calivllo, who has stepped up massively the last few weeks as Amiah Butler has missed time due to injury.
Calvillo finished the regular season third on the team in kills with 191. She recorded 10 or more kills in eight of the last nine matches.
In addition to Calvillo, a plethora of other Trojans have stepped to record impactful kills at the outside hitter position as of late, including Sara Bates, Maleah Howe and Sophie Sparks.
Troy has also gotten some quality play this season from its middles. Ella Broadhead has 43 kills to her name this year and leads the team in blocks with 55.0. Sydney Austin has contributed 44 kills and 47.0 blocks, while Audrey Worthington has 45 kills and 41.0 blocks.
In the passing department Janelle Stuempfig continues to be a staple of the Trojan offense, as she leads the team with 683 assists (6.83 a/s) while also contributing 53 kills. Jordan Sinness also has 340 assists on the season.
Jaci Mesa leads Troy in digs with 284 and eclipsed the 1,000-career dig mark during Thursday's five-set match against App State. Hester is right behind her with 252 digs and had 11 double-doubles (kills-digs) on the season to lead Troy.
Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State has won six of their past ten conference matches. The Panthers rank third in conference in team kills (1,380) and in team assists (1,306), and second in service aces (172). Keionna Mackey leads the team in kills with 327 on the season.
Troy leads the all-time series 16-7. The Trojans won the last matchup 3-2 on Nov. 13, 2021, in Atlanta, Ga.
Notables
• Josh Lauer is in his eighth season at the helm of Troy and boasts a 120-112 record while leading the Trojans.
• Tori Hester was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference on Wednesday after putting together one of the most dominant offensive seasons in the Sun Belt, the country and in program history.
• Hester finished her regular season with 508 kills (5.08 k/s), which leads the Sun Belt and is fourth in the country. It's Hester's second time recording 500-plus kills in a season (2022) and it's the third most kills in a season by a Troy player. She had 522 in 2022, while Rachel Hassan's 616 in 2002 is still the program record.
• Hester was also named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday morning, her second-consecutive time winning the honor and third time on the season.
• In the newest RPI ranking Troy comes in at No. 111, 12 spots higher than its previous ranking (123). It's good for seventh in the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt has six teams in the top 100 (Ga. Southern, Arkansas State, App State, Texas State, Coastal Carolina and James Madison).
Players Mentioned
Middle Hitter
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Outside Hitter
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Middle Hitter
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Outside Hitter
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Outside Hitter
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Middle Hitter
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