SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - No. 11 Tiger Volleyball takes down Sewanee to close out Southern Athletic Association (SAA) weekend.
The Tigers (14-3, 8-0 SAA) won 3-1 against the Tigers of Sewanee.
Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) led the squad with 11 kills on 34 swings.
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) turned in double-digits kills with 10 on 20 swings, and six assisted blocks.
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) also had 10 kills.
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) turned in 10 assisted blocks on the day.
The Rundown
The Tigers struggled to find rhythm in the opening frame as Sewanee surged ahead 10–3, capitalizing on early errors. Trinity began to settle in midway through the set when
Jozie Dhayer (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek) fired an ace and then assisted
Courtney Pope for a kill to close the gap to 11–7. Later,
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, New Mexico / Horizon) sparked a brief rally from the service line, delivering an ace and then
Marissa Drange (Boerne, Texas / Boerne Champion) rose up for a kill to trim the deficit to 23–18. Despite the late push, Sewanee closed the set 25–18 to take the early advantage.
Momentum flipped completely in Set Two. After an even start, Trinity went on a commanding eight-point run with
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) serving. During that stretch,
Connelley McWilliams,
Reagan Whatley, and
Taylor Starr each contributed kills or blocks, while Lanik added a service ace to stretch the lead to 16–7. The Tigers continued to control the tempo, with McCarthy and McWilliams sealing the frame with consecutive kills for a 25–16 win that evened the match.
In the third set, the Tigers' offense hit full stride. Lanik's steady serving produced another four-point swing highlighted by kills from Pope and McWilliams, extending the lead to 12–8. Down the stretch, Dhayer orchestrated a clinical finish with an assist to McWilliams as Trinity closed the set on a 3–2 run to win 25–17 and take a 2–1 lead.
The fourth set turned into a thriller. Sewanee built an early 9–5 cushion, but Trinity responded with a 7–0 surge behind kills from Whatley and McWilliams and a trio of blocks by Starr. Moments later,
Brynn Bishop (Indianola, Iowa / Indianola) delivered an ace to make it 14–11 as the Tigers seized control. Sewanee fought back to tie things late, but Trinity again responded with a 3–0 run powered by another block by McWilliams and Starr. In extra points, Dhayer set Pope for back to back decisive kills. Then, McCarthy hit a huge service ace to cap off a gritty 30–28 win and a hard-fought 3–1 victory overall.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will travel to Georgia to take on Emory, Berry, and Oglethorpe on October 17th, 18th, and 19th.
