STATESBORO – Tori Hester notched a match-high 15 kills, and Amara Anderson collected 48 assists and 23 digs to lead Troy to a 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-12) Sun Belt volleyball win over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Eagles of the Match
Emily Jarome led the Eagles (15-11, 7-7) with 14 kills to go along with four digs and three blocks, and Paige Powers totaled eight kills and five digs. Ashlyn Lovett posted 17 digs, while Abby Strong and Rebekah Farthing each tallied 10.

Key Moments
With GS trailing 1-0 in the match, Powers put down a kill, Farthing served an ace and Jarome tallied a kill in a 4-0 Eagle run that opened a 23-20 lead, but Troy (17-11, 11-5) stormed back, winning the next five points to win the set. Halston Hillier began the run with consecutive kills, and after a ball-handling error on the Eagles, Julia Brooks combined with Hillier on back-to-back blocks as Troy opened a 2-0 advantage in the match.  

Key Stats
Troy tallied 18 more kills than Georgia Southern on 17 more swings. The Trojans also outdug the Eagles 67-60.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"It was a tough way to close out the weekend. I thought we were good in stretches but lacked some urgency in key moments when we needed it. If we can build off that third set, that's what we'll focus on moving into the tournament. New season starts now, we're looking forward to putting together a solid week in Foley."

Next up
The Eagles will open play in the Sun Belt Tournament  against Southern Miss Thursday, Nov. 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET in the Foley Sports Complex in Foley, Alabama.