Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Samford
Volleyball Falls to Samford in Five-Set Thriller
8/31/2025 6:12:00 PM | Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Troy Trojans fell to the Samford Bulldogs on Sunday in a five-set battle (22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 9-15) inside the Pete Hanna Center.
The Bulldogs (1-1) were led by a strong effort from Kaleigh Meritt, who posted 19 kills on a .381 hitting percentage. Ally Cordes added a double-double (14 kills and 10 digs), while setter Shea Bruntmeyer led the match the 46 assists.
Troy (0-2) received a dominant performance from Amiah Butler, who put down a career-high 24 kills on .345 hitting. Kalina Calvillo and Olivia Kwiatkowski also both had impressive showings, with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Jordan Sinness added 30 assists, the most in her Trojan career.
Set 1- Samford 25, Troy 22
Troy came out of the gate with an early edge, leading 4-0. Samford settled into the match however, with Meritt and Cordes combining for seven kills in the frame. A late 5-1 run pushed the Bulldogs to a match lead.
Set 2- Troy 25, Samford 20
The Trojans fought right back, hitting .353 in the second set. Butler racked up six kills, and a 6-1 swing down the stretch evened the match at a set a-piece.
Set 3 – Troy 25, Samford 21
Momentum stayed with Troy as Butler again led the charge with seven kills. Sinness and Madison Marx combined for 15 assists in the set, while Calvillo chipped in three timely kills. Despite Meritt's four kills for Samford, the Trojans closed on a 5-2 spurt to go up 2–1.
Set 4 – Samford 25, Troy 23
Samford hit .423 with their backs against the wall, as Meritt and Cordes each contributed five kills. Despite Troy having a lead late, the Bulldogs went on a 7-3 run to push the match to a decisive fifth set.
Set 5 – Samford 15, Troy 9
After trading points early in the set, Samford took the lead and did not give it back. The Bulldogs hit at a .533 percentage, pushing them to the ultimate victory.
Quotable – Head Coach Josh Lauer
"Tough competitive match today against a really good Samford team. We had really good contributions and distrubution today. Amiah had another really good match and Kalina was really good for us throughout the match. Their serving runs were the difference in the match today. We will reset tomorrow and prepare for another in-state match against Auburn on Wednesday."
Notables
- Troy is now 21-13 all-time against Samford.
- Amiah Butler's 24 kills are the most by a Trojan since Tori Hester tallied 28 against Georgia State in the Sun Belt Tournament on Nov. 21, 2024. Excluding Hester, who reached the 24-kill mark 10 times in her career, the last Trojan to post 24 or more kills in a match was Julia Brooks. Now a graduate assistant for the program, Brooks hit the mark against Georgia Southern on Oct. 15, 2021.
- Butler also tied her career high in attacks (55) and assists (2).
- Sydney Austin tallied two service aces, setting a new career best.
- After seeing action in eight sets last season, Kayla Baetzel recorded her first career ace, dig, and assist Sunday, finishing with two aces, four digs, and one assist.
- Emma Blaine tied two career highs, posting four digs and four kills.
- Madison Marx added 22 assists, giving her 40 over her first weekend in a Trojan uniform.
Up Next
Troy will head north to take on in-state foe Auburn on Wednesday, September 3. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+, with live stats available at TroyTrojans.com/LiveStats.
