Troy University Athletics
Troy University
0-1,0-0Sun Belt
Maryland
1-0,0-0Big Ten
Troy Volleyball Splits First Day of 2024 Season
8/30/2024 8:23:00 PM | Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Troy women's volleyball team opened its 2024 season by splitting its two matches, as the Trojans fell 3-0 to Maryland, before rebounding against New Hampshire with a 3-1 win.
Troy (1-1) played strong against Maryland but couldn't quite get in front of the Terrapins. In its second match, Troy handled its business against the Wildcats thanks in part to a dominant showing by senior outside hitter Tori Hester.
Hester finished the first day of competition with 44 kills. The Trojans out-killed their opponents 100-83 while hitting .166 and generating 14.3 kills per set.
Match 1
Despite the Trojans hanging in throughout the whole match, Maryland swept Troy 25-22, 25-17, 25-21.
In set one, Maryland led by as much as seven (17-10), but the Trojans fought back and cut the lead to 23-22 before the Terrapins closed out the set on a 3-0 run to take a 1-0 advantage. The Trojans jumped out to a lead on the first point of the second set, and while things remained close for much of it, Maryland closed the frame on an 8-3 run to extend their lead to two.
In the final set, Troy got off to a strong start and led for much of it, but couldn't contain the Maryland scoring towards the end, as the Terrapins exploded on an 11-3 run to come back from an 18-14 deficit to win 25-21.
Hester had a match-high 15 kills on 40 attacks. Amiah Butler also opened her season with double-figure kills as she recorded 11 on 33 attempts. Butler also had five blocks. Troy struggled on offense for most of the match, hitting just .044 and committing 32 errors to its 37 kills. Defensively, Ella Broadhead had a strong showing, as she recorded five blocks.
Match 2
Troy rebounded well and dominated New Hampshire for most of the match, as they won 25-21, 25-27, 25-17, 25-21. Hester led the way with 29 kills, which is a new program record for kills in a four-set match, surpassing the previous mark of 28 set by Cheyenne Hayes in 2019.
Hester was also efficient in her impressive showing, as she hit .382 and committed just eight errors on 55 attempts.
The Trojans had to fight back from a four-point deficit in the first set but put together a 9-0 run to take a 21-16 lead and put a stronghold on the set. In set two, the two teams went back and forth before the Wildcats won five of the last six points to even things up at 1-1.
Troy was down 14-10 in the third set but won nine straight points to put itself back in the drivers seat. The Trojans closed out on a 5-0 run to get themselves just one set away from its first win of the 2024 season. In the final frame, New Hampshire led 5-4, and after Butler tied it with a kill, the Trojans remained in front for the remainder of the match.
It wasn't just Hester who had a strong showing, as Butler racked up 18 kills and freshman Olivia Kwiatkowski had ten kills in just her second collegiate match. The Trojans finished the night with 64 kills and 22 errors on 163 attempts for a .258 hitting clip.
Sara Bates led the Trojans with four service aces, while Kwiatkowski added two and Butler had one.
After setting her career-high in blocks in the first match of the day, Broadhead surpassed that mark with six blocks against New Hampshire.
Quotable – head coach Josh Lauer
"I was really proud of how our team bounced back after a tough loss this morning. That was a good New Hampshire team, and they made us play some consistent volleyball. I thought the whole team made a really great contribution. Sara Bates was terrific from the service line, and Tori and Amiah obviously had great games after being challenged in the first match of the day. They really came out in the second match and did a great job, so it was a good day for the Trojans. It's always nice to pick up a 'dub' on the first day. We will enjoy it tonight, but we have to reset quickly because we play a very good LSU team tomorrow."
Up Next
The Trojans continue their battle in the bayou with a showdown on Saturday afternoon against LSU. First serve is set for 3 p.m., and fans can watch the game on SECN+, and follow live stats on TroyStats.com.
Notable
• Tori Hester recorded 29 kills in the second match against New Hampshire. That mark is a new program record for a four-set match.
• Tori Hester finished the day with 44 total kills. She recorded 15 in Troy's match against Maryland.
• Ella Broadhead set a new career-high in Troy's second match of the day with six blocks.
• The Trojans recorded 100 total kills on the first day of competition, averaging 14.3 per set on .166 hitting.
• Jordan Sinness and Janelle Stuempfig are tied for the team-lead with 39 assists.
• After two matches, both Ella Broadhead (11.0) and Amiah Butler (10.0) are in double-figures for blocks.
• Sara Bates leads the team with five service aces. She had four against New Hampshire.
• Troy is now 0-2 all-time against Big Ten teams and 1-0 against teams from the CAA.
