SAN ANTONIO – No. 4 Trinity University Volleyball heads into its final weekend of regular-season Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference competition this weekend in the short league trip to Seguin, Texas and the campus of Texas Lutheran University, needing one victory to clinch the top seed in the following weekend's SCAC Championship tournament.
The Tigers (22-3, 13-0 SCAC) open the weekend against University of St. Thomas Saturday with a 37-match winning streak in regular-season league matchups, a streak that began on March 13, 2021 during the COVID-abbreviated season. An afternoon battle with Southwestern University Saturday and a 12:15 p.m. Sunday matchup with the host Bulldogs will conclude the 2022 regular season.
Trinity has ceded just three sets through its 13 league matches this season, all in separate four-set affairs, after it opened the 2022 campaign with seven straight nationally-ranked opponents, posting a 5-2 record in that stretch. For that reason, the Tigers currently rank seventh in NCAA III in strength of schedule as their opponents have combined to win over 65 percent of matches.
No. 4 Trinity Volleyball will then move on to the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship in on the campus of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 4-5.
NCAA III Rankings – Still No. 4 for AVCA, No. 2 in Region 10
The Tigers stayed put in the fourth spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) weekly release on Tuesday, behind the lone undefeated team across all levels of NCAA Volleyball No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (CA), No. 2 Juniata College (PA) whose lone loss in 2022 came against Trinity, and No. 3 Calvin University (MI) who the Tigers have split the last two NCAA III Quarterfinal appearances.
Seven opponents from the 2022 campaign remain ranked by the AVCA: No. 1 Claremont-M-S, No. 2 Juniata, No. 8 Berry College (GA), No. 11 Emory University (GA), No. 14 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, No. 21 University of California-Santa Cruz and No. 23 Transylvania University (KY).
In the first rank-order release of the NCAA's Division III regional rankings Wednesday, Trinity fell in line behind the top-ranked, undefeated Athenas for the second spot in Region 10. UC-Santa Cruz slotted in third, followed by a second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference representative in California Lutheran University and American Southwest Conference contender University of Texas-Dallas.
In total, Trinity has faced 11 of the 70 teams across NCAA III listed in this week's regional rankings.
SCAC Offensive Player of the Week: Sara Flynn
For the first time this season, and the third in her career, senior rightside Sara Flynn (Seattle, Wash. / Roosevelt) was named this week's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week on offense. Last season, Flynn earned one defensive and one offensive selection in back-to-back weeks.
Flynn posted a blistering .587 hitting percentage in the Tigers' 4-0 weekend sweep of SCAC opponents in San Antonio, including a .615 in the four-set victory over Colorado College on Sunday. To add to her point total, Flynn added eight blocks on the weekend with four against the other SCAC Tigers.
Preview – Final SCAC Weekend
The Tigers continue their reign as the nation's best at the net with a 3.05 blocks per set average this season, nearly a half of a block per set more than anyone else in NCAA III. Middle blockers senior Emily Ellis (Georgetown, Texas / Georgetown) and junior Maddie Fate (New York, N.Y. / Croton on Hudson) have both battled into the top five in NCAA III individually, fourth and fifth respectively, with near-identical rates of 1.38 blocks per set.
The offense has caught up to the front-row defensive presence in recent weeks as Trinity has worked its way back into third in NCAA III in team hitting percentage at 0.266 for the season. The Tigers have averaged 0.304 in their last 10 matches, an impressive 0.343 since the start of last weekend's SCAC crossover. During the last 10 contests, Flynn and Ellis have combined for a near-superhuman 0.472 hitting percentage on 166 kills. Ellis ranks fourth in NCAA III with a .415 mark on the attack, Flynn's 0.383 lands 17th.
On the Celts: St. Thomas enters the weekend at 20-7 overall, fifth in SCAC standings at 7-6 in league play, but have won their last eight since matching up with Trinity on October 7. In the brief series since the Celts joined the SCAC in 2018, the Tigers have an 8-0 advantage.
St. Thomas takes pride in its own net presence as it ranks 10th in NCAA III in team blocks per set, led by reigning SCAC Defensive Player of the Week Paige Havel with her 1.43 blocks per set average this season, second in NCAA III.
On the Pirates: Southwestern sits in a tie for second in the SCAC at 10-3 in league play, 14-9 overall this season, winner of four its last five in SCAC play aside from a midweek bout with St. Thomas. A much more robust series historically, Trinity holds a 58-18 (.763) mark over the Pirates since the start of the 1991 season, and nine of the last 10 since the start of the 2019 campaign.
The attack is Southwestern's strongest phase statistically, 35th in NCAA III in attacks per set (37.93) and 40th (12.67) in kills per set. Last week's SCAC Offensive Player of the Week, Emma White leads the Pirates with 3.26 kills per set.
On the Bulldogs: This weekend's host shares the second-place tie in the SCAC with Southwestern with a 23-7 overall record alongside the 10-3 league mark. Texas Lutheran will look to rebound from back-to-back losses after having won 13 of its previous 14 matches, the only loss in that time against Trinity on October 8.
The series between the Tigers and Bulldogs since 1993 has a 38-9 record in favor of Trinity, winner of the last 14 meetings since 2016.
As one of few teams in NCAA III in 2022 with 30 matches under its belt already, the Bulldogs rank in the top five nationally in multiple team totals statistically. On per-set averages, Texas Lutheran ranks 27th in team attacks (38.21) and 52nd in hitting percentage (.215). The reigning SCAC Backrow Player of the Year, Lexi Morris is 27th nationally in digs per set and is 85 digs away from becoming the all-time career leader for the Bulldogs.
Looking Ahead – 2022 SCAC Championship
The 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship will be hosted by Colorado College November 4-5 in Colorado Springs. The top six teams in the league standings by the weekend's conclusion will enter the bracket. The Tigers need just one victory in the weekend's slate to clinch the top seed in the conference tournament.
The second first-round bye is still very much in play this weekend in Seguin. With a head-to-head sweep in hand, Southwestern holds the advantage in its tie with Texas Lutheran. Fourth-place Colorado College (16-7, 8-4 SCAC) has a chance at the second first-round bye as well as the Tigers will battle both the Bulldogs and Pirates this weekend, and have a fourth match to play this weekend with travel partner Schreiner University.
