Troy Volleyball Falls to Georgia State in SBC First Round

Thursday, November 21

Foley, Ala.

1:30 p.m.

Troy University

13-14,8-8Sun Belt

Georgia State

17-12,7-9Sun Belt

Georgia St.

Troy

Troy Volleyball Falls to Georgia State in SBC First Round

11/21/2024 5:27:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

FOLEY, Ala. – In one of its longest matches of the season, the Troy volleyball team came up just short on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament, falling to Georgia State 3-2 at the Foley Events Center.

Troy (13-14) battled tough all match to force a fifth set, but Georgia State (17-12) had just a bit more in the tank in the final set to move onto the quarterfinals against App State on Friday afternoon.

The Trojans were once again led by Tori Hester, who recorded 28 kills on .250 (28-11-68) hitting, and outhit Georgia State .207-.203, but struggled in the blocking game. Georgia State recorded 15.0 blocks on the day, which proved to be just enough to stop the high-volume attack of the Trojans.

In addition to her 28 kills, Hester also recorded 17 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. She was second on the team in that department, as Jaci Mesa recorded 19. Hester finished her historic campaign with 536 kills and 607.5 points. Her kills and points are the second-most in a season in program history.

Troy served the ball extremely well on Thursday, recording 13 aces which ties its season-high and is a new Sun Belt record for aces in a five-set match. Sara Bates tied her career-high with six. It's tied for the second-most aces in a five-set match by a Trojan. Jordan Sinness also added four aces of her own.

Kalina Calvillo had an impressive final match of her freshman campaign, as she had 17 kills on .256 (17-6-43) hitting. She finished her freshman year third on the team with 208 kills and 219.0 points.

Janelle Stuempfig had a season-high 52 assists, which are the most by a Trojan this season and the third-most in her career.

The Panthers were led by Peyton Gash and her 15 kills. Myllena Torquetti had 10 kills and 10 blocks.

Set 1: Troy 27-25
The longest set of the match saw Troy jump out to a 7-2 lead and force a Georgia State timeout. The two sides battled back and forth the rest of the way, and thanks to back-to-back kills by Hester, Troy took the first set and an important 1-0 lead. Going into the match Troy was 5-1 when winning the first set this season.

Hester and Calvillo each had six kills, while Sydney Austin had two. The Trojans hit .282 in the frame and had five service aces.

Set 2: Georgia State 25-21
The Trojans had a commanding 19-14 lead that forced Georgia State to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Panthers six of the next seven points to tie things up at 20. Troy won the next point, and Georgia State went on a 5-0 run to win the set and tie things up at 1-1.

Sara Bates had five aces in the set, but the Trojans struggled offensively with a .081 hitting clip, while Georgia State sat at .257.

Set 3: Georgia State 25-23
Georgia State came out of the gates better in the third set than the previous two. The Panthers forced Josh Lauer to call a timeout while leading 17-13. The Trojans battled back and were able to cut the lead to 24-23, but a Gash kill put the Panthers just one set away from moving on in the tournament.

The difference in the set was Georgia State's five blocks, while Troy had none. Hester had eight of her kills in the frame, while Calvillo had six.

Set 4: Troy 25-16
With its season on the line, Troy had its best set to keep the match alive. After dropping the first point, Troy never trailed again. The Trojans forced the Panthers to use its second timeout of the set after jumping ahead 20-13. Troy closed the set out on a Hester kill to force a do-or-die fifth set.

Troy hit .297 (14-3-37) in the frame, and got six kills from Hester, while Bates added for on .500 (5-0-10) hitting.

Set 5: Georgia State 15-13
Georgia State took a commanding 5-1 lead early in the frame to force a Troy timeout. The Trojans responded by winning nine of the next 12 points to take a 10-8 advantage. Tied at 12-12, Georgia State won both of the next two points to force a match-point opportunity. The Panthers won the set and match on a Alessia Cappai kill.

Neither team hit well in the set as the Trojans had a clip of .000 (7-7-19), while Georgia State hit .062 (5-4-16).

Quotable – head coach Josh Lauer
"That was a tough-fought, heartbreaking match. Congrats to Georgia State on a hard-earned win. I'm very thankful for all the hard work and sacrifices our players and staff have made this year. This team stayed committed to one another throughout and our senior class of Tori, Caroline, Janelle and Sophie have left a tremendously positive legacy for the future of our program. We will miss them for sure, but they have made sure that the future of Troy Volleyball is very bright."

Notables
• Tori Hester recorded her 49th consecutive match of double-digit kills on Thursday. It's the longest known active streak in Division I women's volleyball.
• Tori Hester finishes her career as Troy's all-time leader in kills (1,767) and points (2021.5).
• Troy set the Sun Belt record for most aces in a five-set tournament match with 13. That mark also ties the season-high for Troy.
• Janelle Stuempfig had a season-high 52 assists, which are the third-most in a single match in her career.
• Sara Bates tied her career-high with six aces. It's also tied for the second-most in a five-set match in program history.