SAN ANTONIO – The 17th-ranked Trinity University volleyball team wrapped up a Southern Athletic Association weekend at home with a 3-0 sweep of Rhodes College (TN) on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (16-8, 8-6) earned a regular season series split against the Lynx (14-8, 6-5) with today's win, with Rhodes winning the previous matchup 3-2 in Jackson, Miss. Trinity held Rhodes to a hitting percentage under .200 in all three sets and recorded 11 aces as well to limit their scoring chances.
The Tiger trio of
Lily Long (Glenview, Ill. / New Trier),
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon), and
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) accounted for 30 of the team's 35 kills in the match. Long led the way with 12 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while Pope also reached double figures with 10 kills to go with a .368 hitting percentage. McCarthy hit .583 with eight kills and just one error on 12 attacks, and she also led the team with five blocks.
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) also added four blocks of her own and was the only other Tiger with more than one.
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) finished with a team-leading 16 assists, with
Emma Reeves (Plano, Texas / East) recording 13 assists and six service aces. The six aces are tied for the season high for the Tigers and Reeves also set a new career high with the total.
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) finished with 13 digs to lead Trinity and Long added seven digs as well.
The Rundown
The two teams were evenly matched at the start with Rhodes holding a slim lead over the first several minutes of the game. Neither team led by more than three points or scored more than three straight until the Tigers rattled off seven unanswered scores to take a 19-14 lead. McWilliams and McCarthy combined for two blocks and McCarthy added a kill during the stretch. Rhodes never got closer than two points the rest of the game and
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) finished off the set with a solo block. Long also had two kills down the stretch as Trinity scored four of the final five points to clinch the win.
The second set began like the first with neither team able to put together enough of a run to distance themselves. Rhodes did score five straight for the first big scoring spurt and a 10-7 lead, but Trinity kept pace for the next several points. Pope then hit for three kills during a 5-0 Tiger streak that gave the home team a 17-14 advantage. Rhodes was able to tie things up 18-18, but Trinity never fell behind after that. McCarthy had back-to-back kills to break the tie and then Reeves served up an ace to make it a 21-18 Tiger lead heading down the stretch. McCarthy, McWilliams, and Long all added kills to get Trinity to set point at 24-20. The Lynx scored three straight in a bid to extend the game, but Long finished off the set with another kill to keep Trinity on schedule for a sweep.
After Trinity scored twice to open the third set, Rhodes went on an 8-2 run to take control of the early portion of the game. The Tigers got back on track after that, and Reeves had three aces in a string of five straight points to take a 12-9 lead. Rhodes was able to tie the game twice after that but couldn't get back in the lead the rest of the way. Trinity closed the match by scoring seven of the final nine points, holding off the Lynx to complete the sweep. Pope had three kills during that finishing run and Reeves clinched the match with two aces in the final three points.
Up Next
Trinity hits the road for its final SAA matches of the regular season, facing off against Maryville College (TN) and Sewanee (TN) next weekend in Maryville, Tenn. The Tigers face the hosting Scots on Friday at 5:00 p.m., followed by a match against Sewanee at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
