TROY, Ala. — Troy volleyball dropped a hard-fought, five-set battle (18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 9-15) to Arkansas State on Saturday afternoon in Jonesboro, Ark. The competitive match featured 27 ties and 11 lead changes across the five frames.
Troy (13-8, 8-4 SBC) battled until the final point, repeatedly rallying back into the match. Three Trojans posted double-digit kills, led by Ashlynn Axtell with 13 and Kalina Calvillo with 10. Sophie Ocampo also reached double figures for the first time in her Trojan career.
Troy's back-row defense was stout, anchoring the effort with a season-best 76 digs. Leading the charge was Kayla Baetzel, who put on a career performance with 27 digs — shattering the personal best of 17 she set just yesterday. The 27 digs are also the most recorded by any Trojan in a single match this season.
People are also reading…
Arkansas State (15-8, 11-1 SBC) outlasted the Trojans behind a strong team performance. The Red Wolves tallied a season-high 17 blocks, led by Calea Bush with 10. Bush also recorded her first career double-double, pairing her blocks with 11 kills, while Devyn Lewis fueled the attack with a match-leading 22 kills and a season-high performance.
Set 1 — Troy 18, Arkansas State 25
Arkansas State carried a slim 15-14 advantage into the media break, then outscored the Trojans 10-4 down the stretch to pull away.
Set 2 — Troy 25, Arkansas State 23
The two sides traded points through the first 14 rallies of the set before Troy broke open the action with a pair of 3-0 runs to build a 13-9 lead and prompt an Arkansas State timeout. The Red Wolves mounted a late rally to tie the set at 21-21, but the Trojans stood firm. Troy reclaimed the lead and secured the frame on a set-clinching kill from Sophie Ocampo, supported by a five-kill performance in the set from Ashlynn Axtell.
Set 3 — Troy 18, Arkansas State 25
Despite jumping out to an early lead, Troy found itself down 7-10 and burned an early timeout to regroup. The Trojans were unable to mount a comeback as the Red Wolves stretched their lead late to regain control of the match.
Set 4 — Troy 25, Arkansas State 23
Sophie Ocampo set the tone for Troy in a must-win fourth set, delivering four kills without an error to lead the attack. The Trojans held a 15-13 advantage at the media stoppage before Arkansas State used a late 4-0 run to tie the set at 22-22. Despite the Red Wolves' late surge, Troy held firm and locked up the set on a clutch kill from Isa Ruether.
Set 5 — Troy 9, Arkansas State 15
The Red Wolves took command in the final set, operating at a match-high .333 clip to shut down Troy's comeback effort. Arkansas State's net defense came alive with five blocks in the frame, stifling the Trojans to a -.053 hitting percentage. Though Troy grabbed a quick 2-1 edge early, a 4-0 spurt by Arkansas State forced a Trojan timeout and established control to lock up the five-set win.
Quotable — head coach Josh Lauer
"Really competitive match today against a very, very good Arkansas State team," Lauer said. "I thought we fought hard and displayed a great effort overall today. Our middles, Ashlynn and Sophie, did a great job offensively. We still have a lot to improve on over the next two weeks. We need to stay hungry and focused as we have a quick turnaround this week and another tough physical opponent ahead in Coastal Carolina."
Notables
- Kayla Baetzel topped her previously set career high with 27 digs.
- Ashlynn Axtell matched her career high with 13 kills on a personal-best 31 attacks.
- Brooke Forkum also topped her career high set yesterday with 14 digs.
- Josie Hensley set a new career high with 25 assists.
- Sophie Ocampo posted a season-high 10 kills.
- Troy moves to 1-2 this season in five-set matches.
Up next
Troy volleyball continues its two-week road trip with a series against Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., with the first match beginning on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. The match will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+.
