The No. 12 Tigers had a hard-fought weekend full of broken records, career highs, and unusual heroes. The Tigers bring it back home to Calgaard Gym to host the 2023 Trinity Fall Classic. The Tigers will face off against some opponents that are all outside of the state of Texas. This will be the last tournament for the Tigers before opening up SCAC play. 
 
The Tigers (4-3) play at home this week after competing in the 2023 East-West Battle in Claremont, California. The Tigers took two of their three games into five sets, and the other into four. The Tigers opened up the tournament defeating Cal Lutheran, and then dropping matches to No. 17 Tufts and No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
 
Sophomore Jenna Rodriguez (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) was named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Defensive Player of the Week for her performances in last weekend's contests, which included a 39-dig performance. 
 
AVCA Rankings
 
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) kept the Tigers in the top 15 of its national NCAA III rankings Tuesday afternoon after their tough loss to Tufts, who moved into the number 19 spot. Region 10 rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (CA) moves to the number 4 spot. 
 
SCAC Player of the Week - Jenna Rodriguez, Defensive
 
Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Jenna Rodriguez had an outstanding weekend defensively, collecting 75 digs over the three matches that the Tigers played in. To open up the weekend, she had a 39-dig performance against Cal Lutheran, breaking a Trinity school record for digs in a match that was set in 1992. 
 
Rodriguez is the second Tiger in a row to be named the SCAC Defensive Player of the Week, behind Maddie Fate (Croton on Hudson, New York / Croton Harmon) who won it in week one.
 
Career Highs
 
The Tigers set multiple career-highs this weekend. First, Rodriguez set a career high in digs in a match. Then three others had great weekends to up their career numbers.
 
Sophomore Jozie Dhayer (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek) set a career-high in digs against Cal Lutheran with 19. Fifth-year libero Nadia Kern (El Paso, Texas / Montwood) got a new opportunity this weekend. Along with playing in the back row, she got opportunities to swing in the front row as an outside hitter. Only having 19 kills in her whole career, Kern collected 12 kills in the Cal Lutheran match, setting a career-high, then she collected 10 more kills in the Tufts match. She amassed 27 kills on the weekend, smashing her career total out of the water.
 
Another big story of the weekend was fifth-year middle blocker Brette Thornton (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall). Thornton had a monster weekend, accumulating 36 kills and 20 blocks through their three matches. Her biggest game came against Cal Lutheran. Thornton came off the bench and was just the energy that the team needed. She put 17 balls on the floor and was crucial to the Tiger defense, collecting 10 total blocks. Both of these stats were career highs for Thornton, beating her previous high by seven kills and four blocks.
 
Preview: 2023 Trinity Fall Classic 
 
The Tigers will look to break open this weekend. The Tigers begin the Trinity Fall Classic on Friday, September 15th against Franklin & Marshall at 2:30 PM and then Pomona-Pitzer at 7:00 PM. The very next day on Saturday, September 16th, the Tigers host Whittier College at 12:15 and gear up for a match against the 13th nationally ranked MIT at 7:00 PM.
 
On the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats: The Diplomats carry a 4-3 record ahead of the 2023 Trinity Fall Classic. This will be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Diplomats. The Diplomats have only played one other top 25 this season when they squared off against No. 11 NYU on September 8th, losing 1-3. The Diplomats will look to junior outside hitter Gianna Mangiamele to get the offense going, as she leads the team in kills with 63.
 
On the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens: The Sagehens hold a 4-3 record in the young 2023 season. The Tigers hold a 6-0 record against the Sagehens since 2009, winning the last meeting in 2019 by a score of 3-1. The Sagehens have had a taste of teams from the top 25, playing matches against the then No. 25 Wiconsin-Eau Claire and then No. 19 UC Santa Cruz. The Sagehens will look to dig up Tiger attacks led by the platform of first-year defensive specialist Corinna Benson who is in the top 50 in the country in digs with 132.
 
On the Whittier College Poets: The Poets bring a 3-3 record into Calgaard Gym. The Tigers hold a 1-1 record against the Poets, dropping their previous match 2-3 in 2017. Both the Tigers and the Poets have had matches against Whitworth University in 2023, both defeating them by a score of 3-1. The Poets will try to get behind the arm of junior outside hitter Riley DeGroot who leads the team with 71 total kills. 
 
On the No. 13 MIT Engineers: The Engineers hold a 6-1 record in 2023. Besides their loss to Ithaca College, the Engineers have swept all of their 6 wins on the season. The Tigers hold a 2-0 record against the Engineers, with their last meeting being a 3-0 sweep in favor of the Tigers in 2022. The Engineers share the ball around, having 4 players over 30 kills on the season. This match will mark the fourth top-25 opponent for the Tigers in 11 matches. 
 
Up Next: Time for SCAC Play
 
The Tigers will open their 2023 SCAC crusade with a SCAC Crossover hosted by Southwestern in Georgetown. The Tigers will open up against the University of St. Thomas and Southwestern University on Saturday, September 23rd, and close out the crossover against Texas Lutheran University on Sunday, September 24th.