Troy Volleyball Travels to Auburn on Tuesday Night - Troy University Athletics

Troy Volleyball Travels to Auburn on Tuesday Night – Troy University Athletics

Posted by Admin September 3, 2024 Travel

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TROY, Ala. – Coming off a strong opening weekend that included a win over LSU, the Troy volleyball team sets its on another SEC foe as it travels to Neville Arena to take on Auburn at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Troy (2-1) is coming off its first weekend of competition in Baton Rouge, which was capped off with a thrilling five-set win over LSU on Saturday evening. The Trojans dropped their first game of the season on Friday against Maryland before taking down New Hampshire in four sets.

Tori Hester led the way for the Trojans with an astonishing 68 kills – 5.67 per set – in the three matches. Both of those marks lead the Sun Belt Conference. Also having strong offensive showings was Amiah Butler (41 kills) and freshman Olivia Kwiatkowski (27 kills).

Match Information
The Matchup: Troy (2-1) at Auburn (3-0)
When: Tuesday, September 3 – 7 p.m.
Where: Auburn, Ala. – Neville Arena (9,121)
Watch: SECN+
Live Stats: Troystats.com

A Smashing Start
In route to her 68 kills, Hester recorded 29 of them in Friday night’s victory over New Hampshire. That mark is a new program record for the most kills in a four-set match, surpassing the previous record of 28. Against Big Ten foe Maryland, she recorded 15 kills in three sets.

The senior outside hitter from North Carolina closed out her weekend with 24 kills in the Trojans’ five-set win over LSU. She recorded the final kill of the match to clinch a 25-23 set win for the Trojans in the fifth frame. Defensively, Hester also recorded nine blocks on the weekend, including four in both of Troy’s wins over UNH and LSU.

As a team, the Trojans have the second-most kills in the Sun Belt with 159 (13.25 k/s), just seven behind Georgia Southern. Kalina Calvillo, a true freshman, saw the first action of her collegiate career in the fifth set against LSU and recorded four kills on eight attempts with no errors.

On the defensive side of things, Butler and Sydney Austin lead Troy with 13 blocks. Butler had five in each of Troy’s matches on Friday and added three on Saturday. Austin tied her career-high with seven blocks against LSU after recording four against Maryland and one against New Hampshire.

The Trojans used a two-setter system for most of the weekend, which allowed both Janelle Stuempfig and Jordan Sinness to each make an impact on the court. Between them, they recorded 127 assists for an average of 10.59 per set. Stuempfig had a total of 65, including 22 against UNH and 26 against LSU. Sinness had 62 total, which included 29 against New Hampshire and 23 against LSU.

Sara Bates (five aces), Jaci Mesa (42 digs) and Caroline Darracott (18 digs) also had impactful weekends for Troy.

Scouting Auburn

The Tigers are off to a fast start this season after winning nine of their ten sets played during the War Eagle Invitational. Bel Zimmerman, Madison Scheer and Bella Bell all have over 30 kills to start the season. Auburn defeated Georgia Southern in a 3-0 sweep on Friday.

Troy is 0-16 all-time against Auburn.

Notables

• Tori Hester is now eighth all-time in Troy kills with 1,299 after recording 68 during the first weekend of play.

• Troy is second in the Sun Belt in total kills with 159, just seven behind Georgia Southern.

• Troy is tied for first in the Sun Belt with 32 blocks (2.67 b/s). Amiah Butler and Sydney Austin lead Troy with 13 each.

• Troy is second in total points with 203 (16.92 p/s).

• Amiah Butler and Olivia Kwiatkowski are the only Trojans besides Tori Hester with double-figure kills. Butler had 41, and Kwiatkowski had 27.

• Troy is 2-0 this season when winning the first set.