No. 11 Tiger Volleyball heads into the playoff season as they take on Wittenberg at the NCAA III Regional this weekend.
 
The Tigers (28-4) secured an automatic bid to the tournament when they claimed the SCAC Championship with wins over Schreiner and Colorado College. The Tigers swept both matches and earned the title. Senior Mackenzie Logan (Calgary, Canada / Bishop Carroll) led the Tigers with 23 kills across the two matches and senior Maddie Fate (Croton on Hudson, New York / Croton Harmon) had 18 kills. The Tigers held both teams to under a .200 hitting percentage and collected 10 total aces, it was all-around domination for the Tigers. 
 
Preview - NCAA Regionals
 
The Tigers will play against the Tigers of Wittenberg on Thursday. The Tigers will be looking to repeat the run that they had in 2022, as they reached the national title match. The Tigers are in the regional with eight teams. The teams are Trinity, Wittenberg, No. 10 Berry, Washington & Lee, Meredith, No. 24 Covenant, No. 15 Mt. St. Joseph, and No. 7 Emory. 
 
Matchups
 
No. 4 Emory vs Meredith
 
No. 14 Mt. St. Joseph vs No. 24 Covenant
 
No. 13 Trinity vs Wittenberg
 
No. 12 Berry vs Washington & Lee
 
Scouting The Opponents
 
On the Wittenberg Tigers: The Tigers finished their season with a 16-13 record and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating DePauw in the NCAC championship. Trinity and Wittenberg have faced off 13 times since 1996, but the two schools haven't met since 2014. Trinity holds a slight 7-6 edge in the series, but Wittenberg has won five of the last six meetings - including a 3-0 win in the 2006 NCAA Quarterfinals that is the only time the teams have played in the playoffs. The Tigers will contend against two outside hitters for Wittenburg with senior Tyler Linkhart and sophomore Alana Bartulovic. Linkhart has 325 kills on the season and Bartulovic has 255 kills on the season. 
 
On the No. 10 Berry Vikings: The host of this regional, the Vikings finished 2023 with a 26-5 record. The Vikings earned an automatic bid to the tournament with a victory over Sewanee in the SAA championships. The Vikings sport two elite hitters on both sides of the pins. Senior outside hitter Jazzy Innis has 328 kills and right-side Bella Boston has 319 kills this season. The Tigers and Vikings have only faced each other three times in history. The Tigers have taken all three matchups, including the 2022 match with a sweep.
 
On the Washington & Lee Generals: The Generals finished their season with a 22-10 record and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the ODAC championship with a 3-1 victory over Randolph-Macon College. This will just the second match between the Generals and the Tigers, with Trinity sweeping W&L in the 2002 NCAA  Regionals held at Emory. The Tiger block will turn to outside hitter Riley Debiec, who has 321 kills in the regular season. Of the top opposing hitters, Debiec has the highest hitting percentage, hitting .237.
 
On the Meredith Avenging Angels: The Angels finished the regular season with a 25-6 record. The Angels earned an automatic bid to the tournament with a 5-set victory in the USA South Tournament Championship. The Angels have not faced a ranked team all season. However, the Angels come into the tournament on a 15-game winning streak. The Angels sport one of the top middle blockers in the country in senior Lauren Bissette. Bissette has amassed 348 kills on a .349 hitting percentage, good enough for 39th in the country. 
 
On the No. 24 Covenant Scots: The Scots come into the tournament with a 34-2 record. The Scots earned an automatic bid to the tournament by sweeping their conference tournament, finishing it off with a sweep of Maryville College. The Scots are 1-1 against ranked opponents this season, defeating Emory 3-1 but falling to Berry College via a sweep. The Scots are led by senior middle hitter Emma Kalbfleisch, who is ranked 28th nationally for total points (459) and has collected 379 kills on the season. 
 
On the No. 15 Mt. St. Joseph Lions: The Lions concluded 2023 with a 24-2 season record. The Lions earned an At-Large bid to the tournament after falling to Transylvania in the HCAC championship by a score of 3-1. The two teams have met just three times, though Mt. St. Joseph won two of the three matchups. Trinity got the most recent win with a sweep in 2003. The Lions are 3-1 against ranked teams this season. The Lions are led by outside hitter Emma Sicking. Although she has a small stature at 5-foot-9, Sicking has collected 315 kills so far this season. 
 
On the No. 7  Emory Eagles: The Eagles jump into the tournament with a 24-2 record. The Eagles started their season 14-0 before dropping their first match to Covenant. However, the Eagles earned an At-Large bid after falling to NYU in the UAA championship match. The Eagles have four players with over 200 kills this season. All-time, Emory leads the series with a 15-11 record against Trinity, but the Tigers hold a 4-3 edge in postseason matches between the two - including a victory in the most recent playoff matchup in 2009.
 
Key To The Game
 
Feed The Hot Hands: Coming into the tournament, the Tigers will look to give the volleyball to their workhorse, 2023 Player of the Year Mackenzie Logan. Logan has 320 kills on a .257 hitting percentage so far this season. However, she is not the only Tiger that can hurt opposing defenses. Tiger middle blockers Fate and Brette Thornton (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) both have hitting percentages over .300 and over 200 kills each. Fate ranks 8th nationally in hitting percentage (.409) while Thornton ranks 16th (.380).  Look for the Tiger offense to run plays through them and use them as distractions to get the most offensive success.
 
Looking Ahead
 
If the Tigers prevail, they will play against the winner of Berry versus Washington & Lee on Friday, November 17th.