SAN ANTONIO - No. 2 Tiger Volleyball starts their 2026 campaign.
The Tigers are back in Calgaard Gymnasium on
Julie Jenkins Court for their 2026 season after they finished the 2025 season with a 26-6 overall record that included a 13-1 Southern Athletic Association record to win the Regular Season Championship. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Playoffs for the 30th in 41 seasons under Head Coach
Julie Jenkins, advancing to the NCAA Semifinals for the fifth time in school history. Trinity finished the 2025 season ranked fourth in the AVCA Division III poll.
The Tigers return plenty of firepower this season, led by senior All-American
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) on the right side. Pope finished last season with 268 kills and 73 blocks. Senior
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, New Mexico / Horizon) will anchor the middle after a breakout junior campaign in which she recorded 159 kills and a team-leading 136 blocks. Overall, the Tigers return five players who recorded more than 100 kills last season, along with four who tallied at least 70 blocks.
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, California / Viewpoint) will direct the offense from the setter position after leading the team with 534 assists and averaging 5.56 assists per set last season.
2026 Schedule
The Tigers will face one of the toughest schedules in the country, with ranked opponents appearing throughout the season. Trinity opens the year at home against Schreiner on September 1 before taking on No. 4 East Texas Baptist on September 4. After facing Gustavus Adolphus and Redlands on September 5, the Tigers will meet RV Salisbury and No. 13 Tufts on September 11. Trinity will then battle No. 11 Johns Hopkins and No. 14 WashU on September 18 and 19.
The Tigers open conference play against No. 3 Berry on September 25, followed by matches against Centre and Oglethorpe on September 26. Trinity will travel to Georgetown to face Southwestern on October 10 before meeting Berry again on October 17. The Tigers will close out the regular season with non-conference matches against McMurry and Hardin-Simmons on November 5 and 6. Trinity will then host the SAA Championships from November 12-14.
Full 2026 Schedule
AVCA Poll
The Tigers open the 2026 season as the second-ranked team nationally. 2025 National Champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh occupies the top spot. Conference rival Berry is third, with East Texas Baptist in fourth. Colby College rounds out the top five.
Full AVCA Poll
Preview - Season Opener
The Tigers will play all four of their opening matches at home starting with Schreiner on September 1st at 6:00 PM. Next, Trinity will clash with ETBU on September 4th at 5:30 PM. The next will feature the Tigers playing against Gustavus Adolphus at 11:00 AM and Redlands at 6:00 PM.
On the Schreiner University Mountaineers: The Mountaineers are coming off the best season in program history with a 24-7 (13-3 SCAC) record and a runner-up finish in the SCAC Tournament. Schreiner will return many of their key players from last season, including All-SCAC selections Giannia Hillard and Harlie Gallaspy. Hillard has been the leading hitter for the Mountaineers throughout her career, totaling 943 kills and 803 kids. Gallaspy, a setter, has 1542 career assists and had 5.78 assists per set last season. The last time these two teams played was in the SCAC tournament in 2024, where Trinity won 3-1. Historically, the Tigers are 46-0 against Schreiner all-time.
On the No. 4 ETBU Tigers: ETBU is also coming off an incredible 2025 season, posting a 34-1 record and a trip to the Elite Eight before being eliminated by Berry. ETBU did suffer heavy losses to their roster, including Graycee Mosley who totaled a staggering 532 kills last season and setter Lexi Moody who had 594 assists in 2025. ETBU picked up its first win ever against Trinity in 2025. Before that, Trinity had won 14 straight matchups.
On the Gustavus Adolphos Gusties: The Gusties are coming off a 24-8 season and a NCAA Second Round appearance. Although they lost their top two hitters from last season, Gustavus Adolphus returns two other hitters that had over 200 kills last season. They also return both setters from last season, both of which had over 500 assists. The other two matches between these two schools were in 2018 and 1998, both of which were won by Trinity.
On the Redlands Bulldogs: Redlands posted a 15-11 record and made it to the SCIAC semifinal last season. Redlands started the season hot at 5-0 but was sporadic throughout the rest of the season. The Bulldogs will rely heavily on sophomore outside hitter Lily Kautai. Kautai had a team-high 321 kills last season, over 100 more than anyone else on the team. This will be the first time the Tigers and Bulldogs have played against each other since 2013. Overall, Trinity is 4-1 against Redlands.
Up Next
The Tigers will hit the road to Massachusetts to play against Salisbury, Tufts, and Bowdoin on September 11th and 12th.
