Troy University Athletics
Troy University
2-7,0-1Sun Belt
South Alabama
6-6,1-0Sun Belt
Troy Falls in Sun Belt Opener at South Alabama
9/26/2025 8:55:00 PM | Volleyball
MOBILE, Ala. – Troy volleyball dropped its Sun Belt opener Friday night, falling 3-1 (18-25, 18-25, 25-21, 18-25) to South Alabama inside Jaguar Gymnasium.
Troy (2-7, 0-1 SBC) finished with 47 kills but was hampered by 26 errors which led to the Trojans' .164 hitting percentage. Amiah Butler once again led the team in kills with 17, while Ashlynn Axtell added 10.
South Alabama (6-6, 1-0 SBC) hit .296 as a team, led by Cambria Gaier's 13. The Jaguars finished the match with 12 blocks, in large part due to Alexa Strandberg, who sent back seven Trojan attacks.
Set 1 – USA 25, TROY 18
Troy opened with a 4-1 lead behind two early kills from Butler, but South Alabama responded with a 9-2 run to take control of the set. The Jaguars hit at .303, with Gaier putting down four of her 13 kills.
Set 2 – USA 25, TROY 18
The Trojans once again started strong, jumping out to a 6-2 lead in the second frame. Once again, however, South Alabama used a scoring run, this time closing the set 19-12 overall to take a 2-0 lead. The hitting margin was at its widest here, with the Jaguars hitting .421 compared to the Trojans' .037.
Set 3 – TROY 25, USA 21
Troy responded well with their backs against the wall, hitting .351 in the third set. Freshman Brooke Forkum put down four of her five swings for a remarkable .800 hitting percentage in the frame. Fellow first year Madison Marx dished out eight assists, and the Trojans extended the match.
Set 4 – USA 25, TROY 18
South Alabama controlled much of the fourth after an early back and forth between the two teams, leading as much as seven on two occasions. Troy killed the ball 11 times, but the nine attack errors and six service errors proved too much to overcome, and South Alabama finished the match with a 25-18 set win.
Quotable – Head Coach Josh Lauer
"We continue to find consistency in our play and that was the story of the night. We will regroup and look to play a much more aggressive and disciplined level of volleyball tomorrow."
Notables
- Freshman Brooke Forkum made her career debut, finishing with seven kills and two blocks.
- Forkum's seven kills are the most kills in a Troy freshman debut since 2019, when Ashley Guenveur recorded seven against Southeastern Louisiana.
- Ashlynn Axtell set numerous career highs, with personal bests in kills (10), attacks (21), and assists (2).
- Kalina Calvillo's two assists were a career high for the sophomore.
- Addison Kersting appeared in her first match of the season.
- Troy is now 33-32 in Division-I matches against South Alabama.
Up Next
The second match of Troy's weekend series at South Alabama is set for Saturday, September 27 at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
