Troy University Athletics
Troy University
4-11, 2-5SBC
Louisiana
10-7, 2-5SBC
Butler's Career Night Leads Troy Past Louisiana
10/16/2025 9:55:00 PM | Volleyball
LAFAYETTE, La. – Amiah Butler hit a blistering .434 with a career-high 29 kills as Troy volleyball overpowered Louisiana, 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-21, 25-18), inside Earl K. Long Gym Thursday night.
For Butler, the 29 kills shattered her previous high of 24, set earlier this season against Samford. The Pensacola native added 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the year.
Troy (4-11, 2-5 SBC) dropped three set points in the opening frame to fall behind early but never looked back, improving its hitting percentage in each of the next three sets and finishing with a .429 clip in the fourth.
Louisiana (10-7, 2-5 SBC) featured a balanced attack, with three players finishing with seven or more kills. Cailin Demps led the Ragin' Cajuns with 11.
Set 1 – Louisiana 26, TROY 24
After trading points early, Troy gained control of the set at 20-15. However, Louisiana closed strong, winning 10 of the final 14 points to take a one-set-to-none lead. Butler opened the match with seven kills in the first frame.
Set 2 – TROY 25, Louisiana 15
The Trojans took command early and never let up, building a 17-7 advantage late in the set. A kill from Brooke Forkum followed by a Louisiana attack error evened the match at one set apiece.
Set 3 – TROY 25, Louisiana 21
The third set was tight throughout, featuring ties at 5-5, 10-10, and 15-15. Three kills from Butler sandwiched by a service error from the Ragin' Cajuns gave the Trojans the all-important two set to one advantage.
Set 4 – TROY 25, Louisiana 18
The final set featured a milestone moment, as Sara Bates recorded her 100th career service ace to make it 18-12 Troy. Bates added another ace to extend the lead to seven, and the Trojans closed it out on Butler's 29th kill of the night.
Quotable – Head Coach Josh Lauer
"Great team effort tonight led by an amazing performance by Amiah Butler both offensively and defensively. Our serving was the difference maker tonight as we had some big runs by Kalina Calvillo and Olivia Kwiatkowski, and clutch aces by Sara Bates and the end of set four. We will enjoy a good road win tonight and get ready for another competitive match tomorrow."
Notables
- Sara Bates became just the fifth Trojan in the rally scoring era (since 2001) to reach 100 career service aces.
- Butler's 29 kills were the most by a Trojan since Tori Hester's 35 against App State on Nov. 14, 2023.
- In a four-set match, Butler's total is the highest since Hester also recorded 29 versus New Hampshire on Aug. 30, 2023.
- Kalina Calvillo's five service aces marked a career high and tie for the fourth-most in a four-set match in program history.
- Kayla Baetzel set a new career high with 12 digs.
Up Next
The Trojans will finish the series against the Ragin' Cajuns tomorrow at 6 p.m. There will be no livestream of the match, however live stats will be available on TroyTrojans.com/livestats.
