BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The No. 6 seed Trinity Tigers wrapped up a remarkable NCAA Tournament run in Bloomington, where they fell 3-0 to the second-seeded UW-Oshkosh Titans in the national semifinal.
Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) led Trinity with 13.5 points, recording 11 kills and 4 total blocks while adding eight digs.
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, NM / Horizon) followed with 8.0 points, finishing with five kills and 5 total blocks in a strong performance at the net.
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) made important contributions to the Tigers, with four kills and 2 total blocks.
Marissa Drange (Boerne, Texas / Boerne Champion) added three kills along with five digs.
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) rounded out Trinity's performance behind one kill and 2 total blocks, plus a dig.
Trinity finished with 29 kills on .079 hitting, while UW-Oshkosh's efficiency and pressure at the net resulted in 52 kills on a .248 clip. The Tigers' strongest stretch came in the second set, but overall the Titans produced an efficient offensive performance and converted their opportunities at a higher rate across all three frames.
The Rundown
UW-Oshkosh opened the frame with a pair of early kills to take a 3-1 lead, with Trinity's first point coming from a strong block by Starr. The Titans added a few more points to move ahead 6-2 before the Tigers responded with key defensive plays - McCarthy combined for a block with
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) and followed with a kill to bring the score to 6-4. UW-Oshkosh then created the decisive run of the set, using tough serving and extended rallies that led to Trinity errors and widened the margin to 14-4. The Tigers broke through with kills from Long and McCarthy to reach 18-8, and
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's School) applied pressure at the service line, generating three consecutive points as the Titans committed errors to make it 18-11. The visitors answered with a short push to 23-11, and although Trinity added another point on a service error, UW-Oshkosh closed the frame 25-12.
Set two opened with early back-and-forth swings, highlighted by Whatley putting down two clean kills to keep the Tigers even through 2-2. Trinity then found their rhythm behind a strong serving stretch from
Jozie Dhayer (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek), whose connection to Whatley produced another kill before a triple block from Whatley, McCarthy, and McWilliams pushed the Tigers ahead 5-2. UW-Oshkosh briefly slowed the momentum, but Trinity answered with a run sparked by a
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, California / Viewpoint) ace and neat setting to Pope and Drange, to build a 12-7 advantage. UW-Oshkosh responded with a steady push to close within one, but Trinity held its edge with a timely swing from Pope, keeping the frame tight at 17-15. The Titans briefly moved in front at 20-19, yet the Tigers countered with a phenomenal block from
Aeris Vera (San Antonio, Texas / Pieper) and a composed finish from Pope to reclaim a 22-20 lead. The set remained tight, as Whatley answered key Oshkosh points 3 times to keep pace at 25-24. Trinity came just one point away from levelling the match, however the Titans scored 3 consecutive points to take an enthralling second set, 27-25.
Trinity opened the third set with a strong defensive stand, as Pope and Vera combined for a block on the first point, followed shortly by an early kill from Vera to keep the Tigers even at 3-3. The teams continued trading points through 6-6, with Whatley and McCarthy involved in a key block then followed by another McCarthy kill to keep pace. The Titans then assembled a run to move ahead 10-7 and further extended their edge to 13-7. Trinity answered with its best push of the frame as Whatley stepped up and showed her quality, providing 4 kills, a block and an ace to make it 16-15 to the Titans. The Tigers kept the pressure on and pulled within 19-17 through a McCarthy kill. UW-Oshkosh then put together a strong stretch and gave themself a match point at 24-17. Despite a kill from Drange the Titans finished the set 25-19 to seal the match 3-0.
Trinity Volleyball ended a phenomenal season, with Head Coach
Julie Jenkins completing her 41st season with the Tigers. Although it didn't end with their desired outcome the Tigers showed they can compete with the very best and be one of the most exciting volleyball teams in the country.
