COLORADO SPRINGS - No. 10 Tiger Volleyball opens the second weekend of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) play with sweeps over the University of Dallas and Austin College.
The Tigers had an excellent day on the service line, amassing 21 aces over the two matches. Although the Tiger block has been great, it was the offensive prowess of the Tigers that would carry the team.
Game One: Trinity 3, Dallas 0
The Tigers dominated in set one as sophomore
Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) got the scoring started with a monster swing. The Tigers would get out to a 5-0 start. The Crusaders tried to cut the deficit, but Whatley would put the points back into Tiger territory. After the Tigers saw Whatley putting balls down, it was time for the rest of the team to get involved. Freshman
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St, Michaels) and senior
Mackenzie Logan (Calgary, Canada / Bishop Carroll) would score five of the next ten Tiger points. Freshman
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) would finish off the Crusaders with the first ace of her career and would give the Tigers the set, 25-11.
The second set was played closer than the first as the Tigers saw an early 3-3 score. In the middle of the set, the Tigers would go on a 4-3 swing to bring the Tigers up. The Crusaders would even the score with a three-point run of their own. Although the Crusaders played the Tigers tight, the Tigers were locked and loaded to win the set. After a kill by Logan, the Tigers were looking at set point. The big Tiger block would force a crucial hitting error by the Crusaders and the Tigers would take the set 25-20 and a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers would come out hot in set three. Freshman
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, California / Viewpoint) blasted the Crusaders with two service aces. After a Tiger kill and a bad set, the Tigers would go up 4-0 early. Just when the Crusaders were making a run, the Tigers subbed in another energizer in sophomore
Jozie Dhayer (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek) and the Tigers got to work. Dhayer would have her hands in the next five Tiger points. To round off the set, the Tigers would go on a massive 10-2 run, capped off by a
Lauren McCarthy (Scottsdale, Arizona / Horizon) kill as the Tigers won the set 25-14 and swept the Crusaders.
The Tigers were fantastic from the service line, collecting 14 aces. DeRivel would lead the way to four aces. Logan would lead the way for the Tigers with 9 kills and Kern would lead the Tigers defensively with eight digs.
Game Two: Trinity 3, Austin College 0
The Tigers were looking to knock off the SCAC top-ranked Austin College Roos. Senior
Maddie Fate (Croton on Hudson, New York / Croton Harmon) would get the Tiger scoring started with a kill. The Tigers would get the wheels turning and take a big 12-6 lead. The Roos would go on a run to close the game to two but the Tigers would explode and go on a 12-3 run to take the set 25-14.
The second set would see the Tigers go down early 7-4. But how could you forget about
Brette Thornton (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall)? The fifth-year would step on the service line and lead the Tigers to four unanswered points to put the Tigers in the lead 7-8. The two top-ranked teams would trade blows but the Tiger block would start to play a factor. The Tigers would take six points in a row that featured a section of back-to-back-to-back blocks by the Tigers. The Tiger block would get into the heads of Roos' hitters as the final point would be a mishit and the Tigers would win the set 25-20.
The Tigers were ready to take the top spot in the third set. The Roos wouldn't make it easy as they grabbed an early 5-2 lead. Of course, a kill by Thornton would give the Tigers the energy to keep going as her swing sparked a nine-point Tiger run to 11-5 in favor of the Tigers. The Roos would bring the deficit to within one but the Tiger offense was just too good. The Tiger offense would hit a four-point swing started by, you guessed it,
Brette Thornton. After a Whatley kill, the Tigers were looking at match point.
Courtney Pope would finish the match with a rocket to sit down the Roos 25-22.
Thornton would lead the Tigers in kills with 10 and Dhayer would lead the Tigers with 14 digs. Fate would have another multi-block game with her four total blocks.
Up Next: Colorado Crossover Day Two
The Tigers will play in back-to-back games to end the Colorado SCAC Crossover when they battle against Centenary College at 10:00 AM (MT) and Colorado College at 12:15 PM (MT).
