#9 Tiger Volleyball prepares for a Texas Showdown this Friday
 
Tiger Volleyball returns to Texas after an outstanding weekend in Georgia. The Tigers started their dominance with a 3-0 sweep against now #12 Emory (previously #9), Friday night. Then, they took their talents to #14 Berry where they came out with a big conference win in 4 sets. They finished the weekend with a sweep against Oglethorpe. 
 
SAA Players of the Week- Marissa Drange & Lauren McCarthy  
 
For the second time this season, Marissa Drange (Boerne, Texas / Boerne Champion) received SAA Offensive Player of the Week. Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) received SAA Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. 
 
From the SAA Press Release
 
Drange led the 10th-ranked Trinity University volleyball team to a 3-0 weekend that included two wins over ranked teams and two more Southern Athletic Association wins. The Tigers defeated #9 Emory 3-0 to start the weekend, then won a 3-1 SAA match at #14 Berry, and finished with a 3-0 sweep at Oglethorpe on Sunday. Drange led Trinity with 32 kills this weekend, averaging 3.20 kills/set, while also leading ALL hitters with a .474 hitting percentage that is well above her season average of .300. She finished with 12 kills and hit .550 against #9 Emory to start the week, then had a weekend-best and tied her career-high with 14 kills and a .357 hitting percentage against #14 Berry. Drange finished with six kills in nine swings and hit. 667 against Oglethorpe to give her two matches over .500 for the weekend.
 
McCarthy led the 10th-ranked Trinity University volleyball team to an undefeated weekend on the road, defeating #9 Emory University (GA), #14 Berry College (GA), and Oglethorpe University (GA). She finished with 17 blocks in the three matches, averaging 1.7 blocks/set to boost her season average of 1.3 blocks/set. She started off with four blocks against #9 Emory on Friday night, then picked up five more blocks against #14 Berry on Saturday. She finished the weekend by tying her career-high with eight blocks against Oglethorpe on Sunday. McCarthy is ranked 10th nationally in blocks/set and the Tigers are fourth in Division III in blocks/set.
 
AVCA Poll

The Tigers moved up one spot to #9 in the AVCA Poll this week. The top three spots stayed the same from last week: La Verne, East Texas Baptist, and Wisconsin Oshkosh. Wisconsin-Eau Claire moved up to fourth place and Juniata remains #5. Conference opponent Berry came in at #14 and Southwestern received votes.
 
The Tigers will take on the Pirates at 6:00 PM on 10/24 in the Robinson Center.
 
Preview: Tigers vs. Pirates
 
The Pirates are currently 3rd in the SAA with a 8-2 conference record and 16-5 overall. Their two conference losses have come from Berry. Trinity and Southwestern have had a long standing rivalry with 82 matchups, but Trinity has dominated the series with a winning record of 63-19.  This season, the Pirates are led in kills by Freshman Outside Hitter Tatum Ahrens with 239. She is closely followed on the opposite pin by Senior Emily Marks with 218 kills. Senior Setter Annika Flora leads the offensive scheme with 549 assists on the season. Izzy Rodriguez has set the tone for the Pirates defensively with 389 digs, averaging 5 digs per set. She has also received SAA Defensive Player of the week three times this season, the most of any player. 
 
Looking ahead
 
The Tigers will continue their road streak and travel to Memphis, Tennessee to play Rhodes College on Halloween. Then, they will take on Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi the following day.