Troy University Athletics
Troy University
2-2,0-0Sun Belt
Auburn
4-0,0-0SEC
Troy Volleyball Falls to Auburn, 3-0
9/3/2024 10:06:00 PM | Volleyball
AUBURN, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team fell 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 at Auburn on Tuesday night in the Neville Center.
Auburn (4-0) outhit the Trojans .369 to .159 and led Troy (2-2) in kills (40-38), assists (39-37), and digs (38-30).
The Trojans struggled from the service line, committing ten service errors and recording just two aces. Conversely, the Auburn defense had a strong showing with 17 blocks.
Tori Hester once again led Troy in kills with 13 – her fourth-straight game with double-figure kills – and had a team-high eight digs. Olivia Kwiatkowski and Amiah Butler each had nine kills. Jordan Sinness and Janelle Stuempfig had 15 assists a piece.
Ella Broadhead had two blocks.
For Auburn, Lauren Dreves led with ten kills. Chelsey McCurdy had a strong performance, as she had six kills to go along with a match-high five blocks.
Set 1: Auburn 25-19
The Tigers got off to a fast start in the first set, as they quickly jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Troy fought back and went into the media timeout down 15-12. Troy won three of the next four points off a Hester kill, Broadhead and Hester block, and an attacking error to make it 16-15. Auburn proceeded to go on a 9-4 run to take the first set.
Hester and Butler tied for a set-high of five kills each, while the Trojans hit .179. Auburn was much more efficient offensively, with a hitting clip of .286. Five of Troy's ten service errors came in the first set.
Set 2: Auburn 25-19
Auburn won the first 11 points of the set to take a commanding lead. Troy didn't back down, as it went on a 10-4 run to make it 15-10. The Tigers answered strongly to take a 20-12 lead.
The Trojans brought the deficit within four points before the Tigers went on a 3-1 run to win 25-19. Troy struggled offensively, hitting just .059 from the court, while Auburn hit .292.
Set 3: Auburn 25-18
The Trojans started strong in the third set as the two sides traded blows for the first 15 points. As the frame progressed, Auburn began to find its groove and quickly extended its lead from 10-8 to 18-11. The nine-point deficit was too much for Troy to overcome, and Bel Zimmerman clinched the Auburn victory with a kill. The Tigers hit a scorching .500 compared to the Trojans .235.
Quotable – head coach Josh Lauer
"Auburn came out really crisp. It took us a little while to get everybody cooking at the same time, and by the time that happened, we had given Auburn too much of a head start. I was proud of our serve receive tonight. They really hung in there and gave us an opportunity. We just couldn't find a rhythm offensively that was consistent enough to put enough pressure on them. That really was the difference in the game."
Up Next
Troy opens its home slate on Saturday as it welcomes Cal Poly to Trojan Arena. First serve is set for 2 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on Troystats.com.
Notables
• Tori Hester recorded a match-high 13 kills. Her first kill of the match was the 1,300 of her career. She has 81 on the season, which leads the Sun Belt.
• Jordan Sinness and Janelle Stuempfig each led Troy with 15 assists and generated 12.6 kills per set.
• Tori Hester had a team-high eight digs.
• Ella Broadhead recorded two blocks on Tuesday, leading the team with 15.0 on the season.
• Troy moves to 0-17 all-time against Auburn.
