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The Troy Trojans (1-8) volleyball squad returned home on Thursday and dropped an excited 3-2 loss to the SEC’s Alabama Crimson Tide.

Troy kicked off the match with a 26-24 win in the first set but Alabama rallied to take the second set 25-17. Alabama then took advantage in the third set, winning 25-21, before Troy came back to win the fourth 25-17 and force a deciding fifth set. In the fifth, Alabama won 15-9 to capture the match.

It was Troy’s first home match of the regular season, with seven straight matches on the road to open the year. A Troy Volleyball record attendance of 1,209 saw the match.

“Our home fans have been great. We started building a fun volleyball tradition here with our fans,” Troy Coach Josh Lauer said. “Starting in 2019, they have been behind us and supported us ever since. Our team feeds off that, I’m so thankful for the Trojan Volleyball Family that we have here.

“I saw our athletes and coaches get out of their seats, it’s one of the things that makes this place special, that our athletes feel that love. I really appreciate that support and I can’t thank our fans enough for coming out tonight.”

Tori Hester filled up the stat sheet for the Trojans with 19 kills, one assist, three aces, 19 digs and three blocks. Amiah Butler added 11 kills, one dig and two blocks, while Julia Brooks tallied eight kills, two blocks and one dig. Janelle Steumpfig dished 43 assists and earned six digs along with Jaci Messa tallying 11 digs.

For Alabama, Kendyl Reaugh led the way with 16 kills, nine digs and one block. Callie Kieffer totaled 46 kills and five blocks, as well.

The Trojans remain at home on Friday to face off against Grambling State at 6 p.m.