Volleyball: Troy opens season by winning tourney

Falling to Mission during round-robin play, the Troy High School volleyball team just couldn’t find the groove and “mentally beat ourselves” – as head coach Sandra Jansma put it.

But during the Mission Tournament’s afternoon session, the Lady Trojans found the answers when it really counted. In the tourney’s championship match, Troy defeated the host school, 14-20, 20-16, 15-12 for the title.

Jansma said her team played up to its potential in the rematch to post the thrilling victory. The two schools will meet again in the district opener on Thursday at the Troy Activity Center.

“The tournament went very well; their communication, I could not have expected more except for the (first) Mission game we had a little glitch in our system,” Jansma said.

Ashley Paasch had a big tournament at the net with 20 kills. Teammate Ashley Suber contributed 16 kills. Kristin Parks had eight blocks and 13 digs. Ashley Olds finished with 48 set assists. From the service line, Paasch had 12 aces and Jessica Lyons had six.

Jansma also said Kimmy Klin stepped in nicely to the libero position and freshman Michaela Curry played very well in her first varsity appearance.

In pool play, Troy defeated Seeley-Swan, Superior and Plains and with the loss to Mission, entered the medal rounds as the No. 2 seed. Troy reached the finals by downing Superior in the semifinals.

Troy’s home opener against Mission gets started at 4:15 p.m. with non-varsity action. The appearance will represent the first interscholastic contest in the new activity center. On Friday, the Trojans head to Eureka.