Hampered Lady Trojans fall to Eureka and State finalist Loyola in Divisionals

After two seniors broke training rules and another came down with a cold the day before Divisionals, Troy lost to Loyola and Eureka in three games.

"With only a third of our cumulative starters, it was a pretty big blow for the girls mentally," said coach Sandra Jansma. "The other girls stepped up pretty well, despite a lot of controversy."

Troy lost to Loyola Sacred Heart, who is first in their district, in three games Thursday, Nov. 1 25-19, 25-10 and 25-16.

"It took us a little while to get our feel for the court, but we had some good defensive plays," she said.

The Lady Trojans did not know until 10 minutes before the game if a sophomore could play, due to allegations of her breaking training rules. It was determined she was innocent, and was allowed to play. But the confusion took a toll on the team.

"We started the game making mental errors," said Jansma.

"Loyola is a good team that is moving on to State," said Jansma. "It was fun going against them. We wish them the best of luck."

Senior Delsey Olds made 4 kills, 3 aces and 7 digs in the match.

On Friday, Nov. 2, the Lady Trojans played Eureka, fighting to survive with five starting sophomores.

"The girls that actually played had a lot going against them, but they still did very well and I was very proud of them," said Jansma. "They overcame the obstacles that came our way the last week and a half - it was nice to see the seniors still playing their hearts out."

Troy lost to Eureka in three games, 13-25, 19-25 and 17-23.

Jansma singled out the sophomores, who, with only one senior set for the roster next year, will play next year as juniors.

"A lot of the sophomores on the bench got to play, as we only had nine total on our bench," she said. "It was nice to see them step up and play their game."

Olds took the lead for kills and digs against Eureka, netting 5 and 4 respectively.

Sophomore Kristin Parks had one block.

Jansma complimented senior Liz Straley's perseverance, describing her as "all over the place" with 14 assists.

She also singled out sophomore Mary Bass as "a very scrappy player" during her play as labero.

Jansma noted senior Megan Etienne and sophomore Ashley Paasch, who started for the team.

"They're a really good group of girls," Jansma said. "They were just happy to be there."

According to the roster, an abundance of sophomores will return next year as juniors, along with one senior, Alicia Anderson,

"She'll be a very good leader for the girls," said Jansma of Anderson.