ROME, GEORGIA - No. 12 Tiger Volleyball takes down Millsaps to close out another strong Southern Athletic Association (SAA) weekend.
The Tigers (12-3, 6-0 SAA) continued their conference dominance.
Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) led the Tigers with 12 kills on 32 swings.
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) picked up 10 kills on 19 attempts (.474 hitting percentage).
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) and
Marissa Drange (Boerne, Texas / Boerne) both totaled 9 kills each, with Drange having a .643 hitting percentage.
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, New Mexico / Horizon) added six kills and two service aces.
Jenna Rodriguez (San Antonio, Texas / Antonian) turned in another solid defensive game with 20 digs. As a team, the Tigers totaled 57 kills, six blocks, and eight service aces.
The Rundown
Trinity opened with energy but found itself in a back-and-forth battle early.
Reagan Whatley put down a kill from
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, California / Viewpoint) to even things at 2–2, and
Lauren McCarthy followed with a swing from
Jenna Rodriguez to stop the Majors' first surge (6–5). The Tigers strung together three straight points midway through, highlighted by a
Lily Long kill and consecutive finishes from DeRivel and
Courtney Pope that cut the deficit to 11–9. Later, McCarthy's ace pulled Trinity within striking distance at 17–14. Trinity fought off set point with back-to-back kills from McCarthy and Long, then tied it at 24–24 with a bad set from Millsaps. Despite the late push, Millsaps snuck away 26–24.
Determined to bounce back, the Tigers wasted no time.
Courtney Pope hammered the opening kill,
Aeris Vera (San Antonio, Texas / Pieper) followed with a finish, and then Vera and Pope combined for a block before
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) capped the 4–0 start with an ace.
Jozie Dhayer then stepped to the service line and delivered an ace before setting up Whatley for a kill, stretching the lead to 9-5. Trinity's pressure kept rolling with kills from McWilliams, Vera, and Pope, extending the advantage to 14–7.
Marissa Drange and Pope added back-to-back kills to make it 24–13, and Drange slammed down the final point to close out a commanding 25–14 win.
Trinity came out quickly with a 3–0 burst as Pope, DeRivel, and Pope again tallied kills for a 3–0 start. Later,
Lauren McCarthy delivered a kill around a McWilliams point to steady the Tigers at 7–6. Whatley then took over, delivering on a kill before serving an ace that pushed Trinity ahead 17–13. Drange and Whatley continued the attack with kills that stretched the lead to 20–13. Down the stretch, Pope, Whatley, and Vera each added scores before a bad set by Millsaps capped the set to give Trinity the 25–19 win and a 2–1 match lead.
With the match in control, Trinity's offense found another gear. Dhayer sparked a 4–0 run with a service ace, followed by two straight McWilliams kills to make it 5–2. McCarthy kept it going with an ace to extend the lead to 9–4. Drange and Vera powered the Tigers further ahead with consecutive kills, and DeRivel connected with Drange again for a 13–6 cushion. McWilliams and Drange added to the tally before McWilliams struck again for Trinity's 21st point. Whatley finished a DeRivel set, and Lanik sealed the match with an ace as the Tigers closed out 25–13 to win the match 3–1.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will take a weekend off before being back at home for more SAA play against Centre and Sewanee on October 11th and 12th.
