SAN ANTONIO – The #2 Trinity University volleyball team finished off the Trinity National Invitational with 3-0 wins over Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) and University of Redlands (CA) on Saturday.
The Tigers (4-0) started the day with a win over the Gusties by scores of 25-23, 28-26, and 25-22. The tournament finale came later in the evening as Trinity won 25-17, 25-23, and 26-24. The Tigers won all three matches this weekend, beginning with Friday's 3-0 win over #4 East Texas Baptist University.
Lily Long (Glenview, Ill. / New Trier) led the team with 11 kills in the match against Gustavus and tied for the team lead with seven digs.
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) also had seven digs in the Saturday opener.
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, NM / Horizon) added eight kills and a pair of blocks while hitting .421 in the match.
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) notched seven kills and six digs, while
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll), McCarthy, and Pope all chipped in with two blocks each.
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) and
Anna Verhoff (Milton, Ga. / Milton) combined for 32 assists, with DeRivel leading the way with 18 assists to go with six digs. DeRivel, McCarthy, and
Amelia Payton (Acworth, Ga. / Harrison) had two aces each, while Payton also added six kills and five digs.
Pope and Long led the Tigers with 12 kills each in the win over Redlands, with Pope also hitting .500 on 20 total swings. Long added three blocks and six digs to her stat line as well. McCarthy finished with eight kills in eight attempts and also led the team with five blocks in the match. DeRivel and Verhoff had 32 more total digs and the Trinity duo put up the same numbers as the earlier match: DeRivel with 18 assists and Verhoff with 14. DeRivel also led the team with three aces and added eight digs.
Annie Witt (Liberty Hill, Texas / Liberty Hill) had eight digs to go with four kills. Lanik once again led the team with nine digs in the tournament finale.
McCarthy was named the Tournament MVP, while Pope and
Brynn Bishop (Indianola, Iowa / Indianola) joined her on the All-Tournament Team.
The Rundown: Gustavus
Trinity took advantage of four service errors by Gustavus early in the match, though the Gusties scored five unanswered points after that to take a 10-8 lead. Gustavus continued to build the lead from there as the Tigers were unable to gain any momentum. The lead was as high as five points (17-12) and the visitors were up 20-16 heading for the final stretch. Trinity finally came to life and tied the set with four straight points – three of which were kills from Pope. Gustavus answered with two points of its own and was poised to walk away with the lead. McCarthy and Pope got a key block to tie things up 23-23, then Verhoff followed with an ace to give the Tigers their first lead since a slim 8-7 advantage early on. Gustavus had a chance to tie but an attack error put Trinity up 1-0.
The teams traded points early in the second set until Gustavus once again used a quick burst to take the lead at 7-4. Another run just a few moments later made it 13-6 and the Gusties had all the momentum going for them. Every time Trinity tried to pull within striking distance, Gustavus held them off and kept a comfortable lead. The margin was still six (21-15) when the Tigers finally broke through. Trinity scored five unanswered to pull within one, thanks to two kills from Long and a kill and an ace from DeRivel. After Gustavus broke up that streak, Long had a kill and an ace to tie things up 22-22 but the Gusties scored the next two to set up set point. Two errors gave the Tigers life and knotted things up at 24-all. Trinity wound up surviving four set points before finally rallying for the win. Payton tied the match with a kill (26-26), then Long put Trinity in front, and another Gustavus error finished off the set and gave the Tigers a 2-0 advantage.
The momentum from that comeback carried over into the third set as Trinity jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Gustavus made three attacking errors and a service error during five straight Tiger points to get to that lead. The lead was 14-8 when Gustavus shook off the slow start and tied things up with six unanswered points. Payton and Long answered with back-to-back kills, though, and Trinity was back in the lead. Gustavus continued to fight and tied the match again at 18-18, but the Tigers scored five of the next six points to squash the rally. Long had a kill and an ace during the stretch and McCarthy served up another ace to make it a 23-19 lead. Trinity held on from there and Long finished off the sweep with another kill.
The Rundown: Redlands
Both teams had small runs early in the opening set to keep things close, then Trinity turned a 5-5 tie into an 11-6 lead that was fueled by a pair of kills from McCarthy. The teams traded 3-0 runs after that and Pope had two kills during Trinity's spurt that made it a 14-9 lead. Redlands chipped away at the lead and eventually tied things up at 17-17, but the Tigers turned up the intensity with a set-clinching 8-0 run. Payton got a kill to start the run and then served seven straight times to close it out. Payton had an ace mixed amongst two kills from Long and kills from both McCarthy and McWilliams, with Long's second kill clinching the win and the 1-0 match lead.
The second set was evenly played throughout and neither team scored more than two points in a row until a 3-0 run by the Tigers gave them a 17-15 lead. Redlands answered with fourth straight points of its own and regained control of the set. The teams traded points after that until Trinity scored three in a row to pull in front 23-22. After Redlands tied things up again, the Tigers scored the final two points – the clincher on an ace by McCarthy – to escape with the set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Redlands came out strong to start the third and was determined not to get swept in the final match of the tournament, taking a 4-1 lead. Pope scored consecutive kills to try and bring the Tigers to life, but the Bulldogs scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 12-5 lead. McCarthy had two kills as Trinity scored four straight of its own to pull within two but Redlands was able to stay in the lead. Redlands continued to fight off the Tiger rallies and led 18-14 late in the game. Witt and Long both notched kills and Witt added an ace as part of a game-tying run for Trinity. Redlands answered once again with a pair of 3-0 runs to take a 24-20 lead to give themselves the chance to avoid the sweep. Trinity had other plans, though, and Long was involved in all six closing points that finished off the match. Long teamed up with McCarthy for a pair of blocks and also tallied four kills to push the Tigers over the top.
Up Next
Trinity will travel to Massachusetts for three matches at the Tufts Invitational. The Tigers face off against Salisbury University (MD) on Friday at 12:30 p.m. (ET) and then take on hosting and 13th-ranked Tufts University (MA) at 4:30 p.m. (ET). Trinity finishes off the tournament against Bowdoin College (ME) at 11:00 a.m. (ET) on Saturday, September 12.
