SAN ANTONIO – The 10th-ranked Trinity University volleyball team opened up its 2025 season with a 3-0 sweep over 12th-ranked Millikin University (IL) on Friday evening, finishing off the first day of the Trinity Fall Classic.
Following the match, legendary Head Coach
Julie Jenkins was recognized in a special ceremony as the court was officially declared
Julie Jenkins Court in her honor. Tiger volleyball alumni, parents, fans, family, and more were there to celebrate the long-time leader of the storied program.
The Tigers won 25-21, 25-8, and 25-22 to open their part in the two-day tournament, scoring the final four points to close out the first set and set the tone for the night. After a dominating performance in set two, Trinity held off a late rally by the Big Blue to clinch the match.
Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) paced a balanced offensive effort for Trinity with 14 kills to go with a .480 hitting percentage and was the only Tiger to reach double digits.
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) hit .667 with seven kills and also led the team with five blocks in the match. First-year
Lily Long (Glenview, Ill. / New Trier) made the most of her first match as a Tiger, just missing a double-double debut with nine kills and 11 digs.
Setter duo
Jozie Dhayer (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek) and
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) accounted for 28 total assists and commanded an offense that hit .265 as a team. DeRivel led the way with 16 assists to go with eight digs, while Dhayer notched 12 assists and seven digs.
Jenna Rodriguez (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) led the way with 12 total digs, adding five assists and a pair of service aces.
The Rundown
The two teams traded points early in the opening set, but Millikin eased its way to a five-point lead and looked like it might spoil the post-match dedication ceremony. After the slow start, Trinity got things going and tied things up at 16-all. McCarthy had a pair of blocks during a 4-0 run that knotted the game up. The two ranked opponents then went point-for-point over the next several serves and were still tied 21-21. That's when the Tigers finished things off with another 4-0 spurt to close out the set.
Trinity kept the momentum going in the second set, scoring seven of the first nine points to take the early advantage. The home team then poured it on in a blowout victory, holding Millikin to single digits in the set. Holding a 14-7 lead midway through the game, the Tigers went on an 11-1 run to knock the visitors on their heels and take a 2-0 lead.
The third began much like the first as Millikin was finally able to string some points together to take the early lead. The Tigers didn't wait as long for their rally this time, putting together a 10-3 run to take a 15-11 lead. Millikin never got the lead back after that, though they did pull within one point at 21-20 late in the set. Trinity answered with three straight to set up match point, highlighted by two kills from Whatley. The Tigers celebrated a win just three points later, then went on to celebrate their coach.
Up Next
Trinity will get right back to work tomorrow, facing off against two more nationally-ranked opponents. The Tigers host #23 New York University at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, then close the weekend against the 13th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville at 5:00 p.m. that evening.
