Empire Rising: Troy’s Growing Volleyball Success
Troy football is returning to its height, the men’s basketball team is returning to annual contention, and the women’s program… well, that success is evident.
There’s another fall-to-winter program that’s quietly built consistent success, seemingly in the shadow of its fellow Trojan squads: the volleyball team.
The history of the programs has a few highlights: the 1983 and 1989 Gulf South Championships, the 1996-1997 back-to-back conference titles… in two different conferences… and Vickie Paciski’s 488-dig season that second year.
Now… the next chapter in Troy Volleyball history begins with head coach Josh Lauer.
He was hired in January 2017, and after two 11-win seasons, the Trojans posted four straight winning seasons… and three straight postseason visits.
Troy hosts the National Invitational Volleyball Championship again this week, the second year in a row. The tournament was a 2020 casualty, but the Trojans’ 2019 appearance makes it three straight invitations.
That’s not the only postseason honor Lauer’s Trojans have earned.
Before he was hired, Troy had exactly four all-Sun Belt selections in its 12 conference seasons, each of them on the second team. As the stats went up, that number followed.
Lauer has had nine players selected to the all-Sun Belt teams, and six of them have been on the first team. 2022’s Trojans produced three total selections and two first-teamers—records in each category if not tied.
To be fair though, Amara Anderson accounts for most of those selections herself.
That doesn’t include the Academic All-District honors that Anderson, Brooks, Halston Hillier and Isabella Mitchel earned this season, either. It’s clear the talent level has risen, not just on the court but off it as well.
In his first season, Lauer led Troy to its first conference tournament win in four seasons. The Trojans increased their kill-per-set count basically a whole point, from 11.41 to 12.39, and that number hasn’t dropped below 12 since.
The 2019 Trojans ripped off 23 wins, the most since that historic 1997 year, and the first 20-win season since Troy went 21-12 in 2012. That squad averaged 13.5 kills per set, the most since the 2007 Trojans.
Troy tied the 2012 record with 10 conference wins, repeating that feat in 2020. Last year’s squad came just short with nine, but this season’s Trojans took it a step further.
Now Lauer’s Trojans have won more conference games than any other squad… ever.
| Rank | Season | Conference Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 | 11 |
| t2 | 2012 | 10 |
| t2 | 2019 | 10 |
| t2 | 2020 | 10 |
| 5 | 2021 | 9 |
His teams have performed well in the fall part of the season specifically. The 2019 Trojans lost a single game in September, and the COVID-limited 2020 Trojans lost just eight games in the four-month season.
Last year’s squad never won more than four in a row, but Troy never lost more than two in a row. The 2022 Trojans stumbled out of the gate, going 5-4 in September, but then they pulled off an even more impressive feat.
Troy didn’t lose a single game in October.
That nine-game conference streak ties the No. 5 spot on the list above… on its own.
Troy got cold comparatively, losing three of the last four matches, but that includes a dropped series to eventual Sun Belt Champion and perennial contender Texas State.
It was still enough to place second in the West, tying the highest Sun Belt finish ever (2012, 2020), and earn a bye. Troy beat Arkansas State, but despite forcing a fifth set against James Madison, the Trojans fell short of their first conference championship appearance.
That brings us to this week’s tournament. The Trojan volleyball team’s success has grown each year statistically, literally in the win column, honorably through its postseason hardware and seasonally in its postseason progression.
The next step is to win a few games in this tournament. A deep run, even if it doesn’t culminate in a trophy, would be a huge victory for the Trojans… and another sign of growth for the empire.