RICHMOND, VA – The Virginia State University Trojan volleyball team confidently enters the matchup against their rivals in Virginia Union which takes place on  Monday, October 21 at 6:00 p.m. at Barco-Stevens Hall on the campus of Virginia Union. 
 
 
Last Time Out
The Trojans found their footing in the sweep against Lincoln (Pa.) last time out. The squad earned a season-high .356 hitting percentage against the Lions in the win. Helena Eubanks earned her third straight double-digit kill match as she ended with 10 with a .588 hitting percentage. Kennedy Hoge and Alexis McNair both added seven kills. This is the third straight match McNair ended with seven kills. Leyla Conley earned a career-high and a match-high five aces in the contest. Kelsea Saulny led the match with three blocks. Makenzy Johnson finished with 16 assists and while Emma Quarles accumulated 10. Kennedy Hoge led the team with 11 digs. The Trojans struggled to take set one 25-19 but rolled the Lions 25-11 and 25-10 to complete the sweep.
 
 
Series History
The Trojans are 17-2 against the Virginia Union Panthers since 2012. Their last match resulted in a 3-0 sweep against the Panthers. The Trojans have won the last four and are undefeated at home.
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Trojans Leaders
Helena Eubanks leads the Trojans on the offensive side as she has a team-high 180 kills. Amaya Cooper is second in kills with 160. Makenzy Johnson and Emma Quarles as a duo lead the Trojans in assists as they account for 615 assists between the two with Johnson having 311 assists and Quarles. Johnson also leads the team with 30 service aces this season. Defensively, Najlaa Williams is in the process of making a name for herself in the conference as she has a team and CIAA-high 328 digs averaging 3.95 digs per set and a .919 receiving percentage. Kennedy Hoge is second on the team with 150 along with a .935 reception percentage. Amaya Cooper leads the team in blocks with 42. Eubanks leads the team with 198 points while Cooper follows closely behind her with behind her with 189.5.
 
 
Scouting the Opponent – Virginia Union Panthers
The Panthers are coming into the match 10-8 (6-5 CIAA) and rank a place behind the Trojans in third place in the Norther Division of the CIAA having lost their last two matches. The Panthers are offensively led by Amilex Lopez-Ayala who earned Food Lion's CIAA Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for 75 points, 64 kills, a hitting percentage of .318, 36 digs, 9 service aces, and four total blocks in four contests. The senior led the team in kills in all four matches, recording at least 12 kills in each match as Virginia Union posted a 3-1 record in second CIAA Volleyball Roundup. The Guayama, PR native had 19 kills (.361 hitting percentage) and 11 digs in the three-set sweep against Claflin and then had 20 kills and three aces in a five-set loss to Fayetteville State. Defensidesively, the Panthers are led by the 5'10 junior Jade Lane who has accounted for 38 blocks this season. While she is known for her defensive presence, she also makes noise on the offensive as well with 106 kills in the season.