According to Troy volleyball coach Sandra Jansma, better communication and more trust were key factors in the Lady Trojan's nail biting win over the Noxon Red Devils in Troy last Thursday night. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough to beat Stillwater on Friday.

The Lady Trojans won in five games Thursday: 25-23, 25-20, 15-25, 21-25, and 15-12. Friday, however, they lost in Troy to Stillwater on Senior Night in five close games: 25-23, 27-25, 25-27, 22-25 and 5-15.

"It's towards the end of the season and we're getting to know each other more," coach Sandra Jansma said. "We're not neccesarily thinking of our mistakes, we're acting in the moment. We're on our toes more than our heels."

With the help of Liz Straley, making 32 assists in the game, Alicia Anderson pounded the Red Devils with 13 kills for the team.

"She was really aggressive and wasn't afraid to hit around the block," Jansma said of Anderson. "Liz Straley kept setting her up."

Total aces - 11; Liz Straley led with 4.

Total kills - 39; Alicia Anderson led with 13.

Total digs - 43; Brandy Koch led with 15.

Total assists - Liz Straley led with 32.

Delsey Olds made both of the blocks for the Lady Trojans. The team had 10 serving errors.

In a reversal, the Junior Varsity team fell to Noxon but beat Stillwater.

The Noxon Red Devils beat the Lady Loggers 23-25, 26-28 and 15-9. Rachel Garcia made all three assists. and Megan Cummings made 7 of the 15 aces. Jessica Lyons made three perfect option passes.

In Friday's game, after losing their first two games to Stillwater, 25-14 and 25-18, the JV Lady Trojans won 15-8, 15-10 and 15-7.

Jessica Lyons made 7 of the 12 aces. Brittany Bradbury made 5 of the 11 kills.

The team had 25 digs vs. 16 against Noxon. Rachel Garcia led digs against Stillwater at 6 and Alyssa Olds followed with 5. Olds also made 4 of the 6 assists.

"We were receiving better and talking more," said JV coach, Launa Baas. "Our return errors were less; the girls were serving better and playing harder."

The District Tournament will be held next week in Eureka, Oct. 26-27.