SAN ANTONIO – The fifth-ranked Trintiy University volleyball team finished off its first weekend of Southern Athletic Association play with wins over Centre College (KY) and Oglethorpe University (GA) on Saturday.
The Tigers (10-3, 2-1 SAA) started the day with a dramatic comeback victory over 14th-ranked Centre (10-1, 2-1), erasing an 0-2 deficit to take the 3-2 win and hand the Colonels their first loss of the season. Centre won the first two sets 25-14 and 25-17 and were well on their way to a convincing sweep. Trinity battled back to take the third and fourth sets 25-23 and 25-21, then finished with a 16-14 win in the fifth. The Tigers wrapped up the weekend with a 3-0 sweep against the Stormy Petrels (4-9, 0-3), winning 25-8, 25-18, and 25-17.
Lily Long (Glenview, Ill. / New Trier) finished with a double-double against Centre, collecting 10 digs to go with her team-leading 17 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) also had a double-double in the match after posting 20 assists and 10 digs.
Emma Reeves (Plano, Texas / East) edged her teammate for the team lead in assists, posting 22 to go with five digs.
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) and
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) were just shy of double figures with nine kills each, with McCarthy also leading the team with five blocks.
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) led the way with 18 digs, while
Amelia Payton (Acworth, Ga. / Harrison) finished with eight kills, six digs, and a team-high three aces.
Against Oglethorpe, 17 different Tiger players saw action after the lopsided scoring in game one.
Anna Verhoff (Milton, Ga. / Milton) led the team with 17 assists, while Reeves finished with 14 assists and a Tiger-best four aces.
Aeris Vera (San Antonio, Texas / Pieper) recorded a team-high four blocks, with
Mae Noerager (Homewood, Ala. / Homewood) and
Angelica Medina (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek) recording three each. Long once again led the team in kills with eight in just two games, while Lanik also led the way with eight digs in just two games played. McCarthy and Pope added five kills each in two games and both hit better than .550 in the match.
The Rundown: Centre
The two teams traded points early on, but Centre scored five unanswered to take an 8-4 lead and never looked back. Trinity never scored more than two consecutive points in the entire game but were still within reach after back-to-back points made it a 15-10 deficit. The Colonels outscored the Tigers 10-4 to close out the set, though, and took a 1-0 lead in impressive fashion. The second set was more of the same as Centre continued to dominate Trinity, scoring five straight points to get out to a 6-1 lead at the start. The Tigers were down 10-3 when they finally got some momentum by scoring seven of the next eight points and trimming the deficit to just one. Centre answered with a run of its own to push the lead back to 17-11, but Trinity scored four straight to claw back within two. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Centre once again finished strong by scoring eight of the final 10 points to go up 2-0.
Trinity got off to a better start in the third, but Centre was still able to use an 8-2 run to lead 13-10 midway through the game. Trinity's answer may have saved the match as the Tigers scored five straight to reclaim the lead. McCarthy and Payton teamed up for a block to start the run, then Payton followed with an ace, and McCarthy notched back-to-back kills before Payton finished with another ace to make it 15-13. Just a few points later, Long recorded four consecutive kills to put Trinity in front 20-15. Despite that, Centre still saw a chance to sweep Trinity on its home floor, scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a brief 23-22 lead. Payton had back-to-back kills to slow the rally and the Colonels had an attack error to make it three straight points and a set win for Trinity.
The Tigers once again got off to a good start in the fourth before Centre scored seven in a row to take a 12-8 lead. Trinity immediately rattled off six straight points of their own, including two kills from Pope and a kill by Payton that put the Tigers in front 14-12. The Colonels scored two quick points to tie things up, but Trinity didn't allow the visitors to score consecutively again until it was set point for the Tigers. This was the first set of the match that Centre didn't close well, committing two service errors and two attack errors down the stretch. Trinity took full advantage and sent the game to a fifth set.
In the fifth, Centre scored four quick points to take a 4-1 lead and prompt an early timeout by the Tigers. Trinity came out of that break and scored six of the next seven to take a 7-5 lead. Payton and McCarthy both had aces and Pope had a kill to fuel the run. After the Colonels tied the game 7-all, Pope, Noerager, and Long had three straight kills to get Trinity out to a 10-7 lead. Centre was by no means done, though, and scored five unanswered points of its own to take command with a 12-10 lead. Long picked up a kill to break the streak and the Tigers tied the game once again. Centre got a kill to pull back in front, but another service error tied things up. McCarthy and Noerager then had a key block and Trinity was on match point. The Colonels extended the match by tying the game at 14-14, but McCarthy and Payton recorded consecutive kills to seal the comeback victory for the Tigers.
The Rundown: Oglethorpe
Trinity was determined to continue its momentum from earlier in the day, starting the weekend finale with eight straight points to take the early advantage. Reeves opened and closed the run with service aces. Oglethorpe scored four of the next five to cut into the lead but Long answered with consecutive kills and McCarthy served up an ace to make it 12-4. Oglethorpe got within six just a few plays later, but Trinity finished on a 12-1 run to close out the set in dominating fashion. Pope had three kills during the stretch to lead the way for the Tigers.
The second set started with five unanswered points by Trinity, including back-to-back aces from Lanik. Long had three straight kills during a 5-2 run by the Tigers to make it a 13-6 lead. She then added a kill and an ace for a 15-8 lead, then a few moments later, Reeves had consecutive aces for a 19-10 advantage. Oglethorpe got within five at 20-15, but a McCarthy kill was followed by back-to-back blocks from Medina and
Kaylin Starling (Allen, Texas / McKinney Christian) to slow the visitors down. Long and Pope capped the win with two kills and a 2-0 Tiger lead.
Oglethorpe scored first to start the third set and take its first lead in the match, but Trinity promptly scored three in a row and never trailed again. A 6-0 run included two kills each for Medina and Payton and left the Tigers up 12-3. Oglethorpe crawled back to within three, but
Annie Witt (Liberty Hill, Texas / Liberty Hill) had two straight kills to keep the Tigers comfortably in front. The Petrels continued to fight and were down just three again when Trinity scored five of the next six to go back up 22-15. Witt, Payton, and Noerager each had kills, then
Lauren St. Charles (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) fired consecutive aces to close the run. Vera teamed with Noerager for a late block, then Vera closed the sweep with a kill.
Up Next
Trinity is headed to Jackson, Mississippi next weekend for two more SAA games. The Tigers take on Rhodes College (TN) on Friday at 2:00 p.m., then square off with Millsaps College (MS) at 6:30 p.m. that evening.
