Posted: Nov 03, 2017
KERRVILLE, Texas - The No. 2 and No. 5 teams in the nation met Friday evening at Schreiner University with a spot in the SCAC volleyball title game on the line and the match-up did not disappoint. Trinity fought back from a 2-1 deficit to advance to its seventh consecutive championship game with a 3-2 victory over Southwestern. Official Website | Postgame Interview
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Southwestern led 2-1, fighting back to earn 25-17 and 25-19 victories in sets two and three after dropping the first set 25-23.
- Southwestern led 19-17 in set four but Trinity took the next five points to take a 22-19 lead. Southwestearn battled back to even the set at 22-22 but Trinity took three of the next four points to force a decisive fifth set.
- The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair, but Southwestern held a 9-8 lead before Trinity won five of the next six points to go ahead 13-10 and eventually take the 15-12 victory.
TRINITY UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Madeline McKay: 19 kills, 7 digs
- Kirby Smith: 16 kills 3 blocks
- Maggi Linker: 14 kills, 6 blocks, .519 hitting percentage
- Katrina Lieberman: 57 assists, 13 digs
- Sarah Mullens: 18 digs
SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Kate Mitchell: 19 kills, .255 hitting percentage
- Brittany Hohlt: 13 kills, .321 hitting percentage
- Piper Sisemore: 12 kills
- Jamison Duck: 11 kills, 5 service aces, 28 digs
- Megan Grimes: 52 assists, 12 digs
NOTABLES
- Friday's match marked the 13th time that Trinity and Southwestern have met in SCAC tournament play. With tonight's victory, Trinity holds a 9-4 lead in those match-ups.
- Trinity advances to its seventh straight SCAC championship match and 18th in program history. The Tigers are 11-6 in their previous 17 championship game appearances.
- This year's semifinal matchup between the two SCAC powers ensured that the league would have its first non Trinity/Southwestern title match since 2012.
UP NEXT
Trinity (27-6) will play Colorado College in the championship game tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. Colorado College is 2-0 all-time against Trinity in SCAC title matches (2011 and 2012). Southwestern (28-5) takes on Texas Lutheran in the third-place match at 2 p.m.