Troy beats Arkansas State in conference match
Published 8:32 am Saturday, October 15, 2022
- Troy's Amiah Butler (1) earned a career-high 20 kills against Arkansas State. (Photo courtesy of Troy University Athletics)
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The Troy Trojans (11-8, 5-2) earned a Sun Belt Conference volleyball win on Friday night over the Arkansas State Red Wolves (5-14, 0-7) by a score of 3-1 on the road.
Troy won the first two sets 25-20 and 25-23 but Arkansas State rebounded to take the third set 26-28. Arkansas State took a 23-20 lead in the fourth set only for Julia Brooks and Amiah Butler to guide Troy to a 25-23 win to take the set with three consecutive kills followed by a pair of Red Wolves errors.
“We really overcame some adversity tonight and showed a lot of resilience,” Troy coach Josh Lauer said. “Our play late in sets was the difference for us, and some very clutch serving by Tori (Hester) and Jaci (Mesa).
“Tori and Amiah carried a big offensive load and made plays when we needed them. They both showed a lot of grit. Julia was our heartbeat tonight, and the team fed off her energy all night long.”
Butler earned a career-high 20 kills in the win, while Brooks added 17 kills and six blocks. Just a week after surpassing 1,000 career kills, Brooks is now just two blocks away from becoming Troy’s all-time block leader in her career, as well.
Hester tallied 18 kills, six aces and 20 digs, while Amara Anderson dished 53 assists and earned 16 digs, two aces, three blocks and one kill in the win. Mesa finished the night with five assists, two aces and 14 digs.
Troy and Arkansas State play again this afternoon at 1 p.m.