SAN ANTONIO – The second-ranked Tiger volleyball team finished off its Trinity National Invitational tournament at home with a split on Saturday, sweeping the University of Texas-Dallas and falling to 15th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Trinity (3-1) suffered its first defeat of the season and finished second at this weekend's season-opening tournament. Oshkosh finished the weekend with a 4-0 overall record and UT-Dallas went 0-3. The Tigers defeated Whitworth University 3-1 and Birmingham-Southern College 3-0 in yesterday's action.

The Tigers came into the match against Oshkosh having won 23 of its last 24 regular season matches, and its current streak of 12 straight wins in the regular season was also snapped.

Match 1: Trinity-UTD
Trinity swept UT-Dallas 3-0 (25-12, 29-27, 25-20) for its third win of the weekend. The Tigers came out smoking in the opening set, hitting .292 as a team and holding the Comets to a negative hitting percentage in the first set.

The second set was much closer throughout and neither team led by more than three points until Trinity pulled in front 17-13. UTD made its own run after that, scoring seven of the next eight points to pull away 20-18. The Comets also led 22-20 and 23-22, but the Tigers kept coming. Trinity fought off set point four different times before scoring the final three points to escape with the win.

Trinity controlled the third set throughout, but UT-Dallas kept the game within reach until late. The visitors drew within a point at 15-14, and were still within three at 20-17, but the Tigers scored four straight to set up match point. UT-Dallas made it interesting with three unanswered of its own, but Trinity secured the sweep by breaking that streak.

After winning the first three points to take the early lead, Trinity saw UT-Dallas bounce back and take a slim 9-8 lead midway through the first set. The Tigers finished by scoring 17 of the final 20 points – including a pair of 5-0 runs – to take the opener.

Sophomore Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) led the way for the Tigers in the win over UT-Dallas, tying for the team lead with 11 kills, and also leading the team with 13 digs and four service aces. First-year Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) also had 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while also adding three blocks.

Fifth-year Marisa Amarino (Calabasas, Calif. / Notre Dame Prep) finished with 19 assists to lead the team, adding three service aces and seven digs. Fellow fifth-year Brette Thornton (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) had just one error on 12 swings, connecting for seven kills, and adding three blocks. Senior Maddie Fate (Croton on Hudson, N.Y. / Croton Harmon) paced the team with four blocks.

Fifth-year libero Nadia Kern (El Paso, Texas / Montwood) and sophomore defensive specialist Jenna Rodriguez (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) joined Whatley with double-digit digs. Kern had 11 to go with four assists, while Rodriguez had 10 digs and a pair of aces.

Match 2: Trinity-Oshkosh
The only matchup between two ranked teams in the tournament came in the weekend finale on Saturday night, with the Tigers and Titans squaring off for the tournament title. Trinity used four quick points to break a 10-10 tie, but Oshkosh then scored 10 of the next 13 to take a 20-17 advantage. A six-point burst from Trinity had the home team poised to take the win, but Oshkosh rallied for four straight points to lead 24-23. The Tigers fought off the first set point, but not the second, as Oshkosh wound up scoring six of the final seven to close things out.

The second set was more of the same early on as both teams fought to build any kind of cushion. Trinity was clinging to a 15-13 lead when Oshkosh made its best move and scored six straight points to take control. The Tigers rallied back to within one at 19-18, then again at 20-19, but the Titans once again finished strong with five unanswered to take the 2-0 lead.

With all the momentum on their side, the Titans came out in set three looking for the sweep. Trinity fell behind by five points early and never really recovered. The Tigers drew within three a few points later, but Oshkosh scored seven of the next eight – including five unanswered at the end – to take an 18-9 lead. The lead swelled to 11 points at 22-11 when Trinity made its last bid to salvage the match. The Tigers scored four straight to draw within seven, but Oshkosh was able to hold on for the victory.

Whatley was the only Trinity player with double-digit kills, matching her earlier total of 11 in the final match. Kern was also in double figures in digs again, finishing with 15 to edge out Trinity Herrera (San Antonio, Texas / Clark) and her total of 12. Herrera also had a double-double with 13 assists, trailing Amarino for the team lead by just one.

Thornton and Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) both had four blocks, while Fate was once again in the lead with five more in the weekend finale.

Up Next
Trinity will head to the West Coast for the East-West Battle Tournament, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday and Saturday, September 8-9. The Tigers will face California Lutheran University and 18th-ranked Tufts University on Friday, then face off against the hosts on Saturday. Saturday's match against third-ranked Claremont will be a rematch of last year's NCAA III Regional Championship Match, which was won by Trinity on its way to the NCAA III Final.