ETTRICK, VA (August 24, 2018) - The Virginia State University Trojan Volleyball team opened their 2018 season with 2 contests during day 1 of the VSU Volleyball Invitational. The Trojans split the day with a 3-0 loss against the Crusaders of North Greenville University at 12pm and secured a 3-2 victory over the Mountain Lions of Concord University at 4pm.
Although VSU fell during their first official game of the season with a score of 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-23), the contest gave the Trojans a gauge on where they stood as a team and what they needed to improve on for their 4pm contest.
VSU returned to the court on a mission for game 2 against Concord.
The Trojans secured sets one and two with a score of 25-20 and 25-17. Numerous errors in the third and fourth set tied the game 2-2, with a fight for the win.
Set five looked to be in favor of Concord with a score of 8-5 at the rotation. VSU kicked their game into high gear, tying the game 8-8. VSU did not waste any time taking the lead, while only allowing Concord to score 3 additional points. The Trojans secured set 5 with a score of 15-11.
The Trojans relied on the skills of rookie Ambria McBride and 2018 CIAA Preseason Pick Jailyn Ivey. McBride was a powerhouse on the court with 6 aces and 10 kills while Ivey collected 20 kills and 3 aces.
Second year head coach Amanda Walker is optimistic about the 2018 season. "Coming out of our first day of play, I am really excited for the season," said Walker. "On day one we were able to execute things that we were still working on at the end of our 2017 season! We are 10 times stronger than we were this time last year. All of the work that was put in during preseason really showed today. I am very excited because we are going nowhere but up from here!"
On August 25, VSU will take on King University at 10am and Elizabeth City State University at 2pm for a non-conference matchup.
Day 2 of the VSU Volleyball Invitational also marks the VSU Athletics Back to School Drive taking place at the VSU Multipurpose Center from 11am-3pm.
For the most up-to-date information on VSU Volleyball please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.
