JACKSON, Miss. – The #7 Trinity volleyball team lost a pair of Southern Athletic Association games on Friday night, falling 3-2 to both Rhodes College (TN) and Millsaps College (MS).
The Tigers (10-5, 2-3 SAA) lost 25-15, 25-17, 18-25, 20-25, 13-15 to Rhodes (10-3, 3-0) to start the day, then fell 25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 12-25, 9-15 against Millsaps (10-3, 1-2) in the Friday finale. Trinity came into the weekend with a 71-2 record (since 1991) against the Lynx and the Majors.
After scoring nine of the final 10 points in the first set against Rhodes, then finishing the second on a 13-4 run, Trinity was on its way to a sweep. Instead, Rhodes jumped out with a 6-2 lead in the third and eventually led 17-10 before trading points down the stretch. The Tigers then allowed eight unanswered points to put Rhodes up 22-13 and could not recover. Trinity scored the first three points of the fifth set and led 13-12 down the stretch, but Rhodes scored the final three points to win the match.
Trinity dominated the opening set against Millsaps, scoring the first six points of the game and led by as many as 14 points (18-4) before running away with the win. The second set was closer early on, then the Tigers 10 of 11 points to take a 17-9 lead and full control of the game. The third set was neck-and-neck up until the end. Millsaps scored four out of five points to break a 17-17 tie and take the lead late, then scored three of the final four to extend the match. The Majors held a slim lead for much of the fourth game, then scored eight unanswered to pull away to a 21-11 lead that set up a winner-take-all fifth set. The Majors scored five of the first seven points in the fifth and then led 8-3. The Tigers got no closer than three points the rest of the way and a 4-1 run late sealed the win for Millsaps.
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) broker her career high with 30 digs in the opener against Rhodes. Her previous best was a 26-dig performance against Texas Lutheran University in 2024. This marks the 34th time in school history that a Tiger volleyball player has reached 30 or more digs in a match. Lanik also led the team with 17 digs in the matchup against Millsaps.
Lily Long (Glenview, Ill. / New Trier) and
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) both turned in double-double performances in the match against Rhodes to start the day. Long finished with 15 kills and 15 digs – tying her career high in digs that was set last season against Whitworth University (WA). DeRivel finished with a team-high 27 assists and 10 digs.
Anna Verhoff (Milton, Ga. / Milton) added 22 assists of her own, while also recording five digs and a team-leading three service aces.
Brynn Bishop (Indianola, Iowa / Indianola) chipped in with 15 digs in the match.
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) notched 12 kills to reach double figures, with
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) doing the same with 10 kills of her own. McCarthy also tied for the team lead with three blocks, which was the same total for
Mae Noerager (Homewood, Ala. / Homewood).
Long led the way in kills against Millsaps as well, finishing with another double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs, and also contributing four blocks. McCarthy held the team lead in blocks again with six more to her day's total, while also picking up nine kills. Starr and
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) added four blocks each and Pope finished the day with 17 total kills in two matches. DeRivel edged out Verhoff for the team lead in assists, finishing with 23 to her teammate's 21. DeRivel also had another double-double with 12 more kills and led the team with a pair of aces.
Annie Witt (Liberty Hill, Texas / Liberty Hill) added 10 digs in the Millsaps match as well to put four Tigers in double figures.
Up Next
Trinity will continue SAA play with three matches in Georgetown, Texas, next weekend. The Tigers take on Sewanee (TN) and Southwestern University (TX) on Friday, October 10, at 1:15 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. The weekend concludes on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. against Maryville College (TN).
