TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — The Trojans swept the Murray State Racers in three sets on Thursday night in game one of the Trojan Invitational.

Troy dominated the offensive side of the ball with four hitters finishing with a .400 or higher hitting percentage.

“Our offense was really aggressive; it was really the stabilizing force tonight,” said head coach Josh Lauer. “In some other areas, we were a little bit inconsistent, but our offense was very consistent and aggressive, and that was the big difference in the match.”

While Troy’s offense might have been cooking, Coach Lauer expects to see the same firepower from the other side of the ball.

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“We have to come out with a better defensive intensity,” Lauer said. “We put so much pressure on teams when our offense is cooking that we got to make sure that when we’re getting some easy stuff back that we’re taking advantage of it and not letting it get away from us.”

As Troy prepares for the rest of the invitational, the players believe it is time to bring even more intensity to Trojan Arena.

“We played very competitively today, but I still think we can get a lot more competitive,” said middle hitter Ashlynn Axtell. “I think tomorrow that a big focus for us has been starting very intense, and I think we struggled with that today in the first set.

“I think just bringing as much intensity as we can these next two games can carry into conference play next week.”

The Trojans are now 2-3 against Murray State and look to keep the wins rolling as they continue the Trojan Invitational. The next matchup sees the Trojans face off against the Citadel at 6:30 p.m. in Trojan Arena Friday night.