Troy volleyball looking for first place in the Sun Belt West

Published 11:10 am Wednesday, November 2, 2022

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The Troy Trojans (16-8, 10-2) volleyball team is in the midst of a historic stretch of games and this weekend look to take control of the Sun Belt West.

Troy is coming off its ninth straight match win and fourth straight Sun Belt series win this past weekend over South Alabama. The pair of wins over the Jaguars put Troy in a two-way tie for first place of the Sun Belt Western Division with Texas State (18-6, 10-2). It also gave the Trojans their 10th conferences win – tying a school record – and nine straight wins also sets a school record.

Troy hits the road this weekend for a series with Texas State now with the winner taking control of the Sun Belt West. Both Troy and Texas State will have just two more conference games after this weekend’s series and the winner of this weekend’s series will likely go into the Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament with the No. 1 seed in the West. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds earn a bye all the way into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Texas State has won three of the last four Sun Belt Tournaments.

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Troy junior Julia Brooks currently ranks No. 4 in the conference in hitting percentage, while sophomore Tori Hester ranks second in the Sun Belt in kills with 408. Senior Amara Anderson ranks third in the conference with 958 assists and Hester is also fourth in aces.

Hester has 408 kills, 13 assists, 36 aces, 29 blocks and 235 digs. Brooks has 268 kills, three aces, 80 blocks and 14 digs. Freshman Amiah Butler has earned 278 kills, four assists, two aces, 70 digs and 33 blocks.

Texas State leads the entire conference in total kills (1,271) and assists (1,192), while Janell Fitzgerald is fourth in kills (346) and Emily DeWalty is first in the conference in assists (986).

Troy has never defeated Texas State, holding an 0-14 record against the Bobcats. The two sides met for the first time in 1997. Troy will look to change that fortune with the first match taking place at 6 p.m. on Friday, streaming live on ESPN+. The second match between the two sides will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, again streaming on ESPN+.