(Story courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department)
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- No. 6 Trinity University Volleyball will play for the 2022 NCAA III Women's Volleyball Championship Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. CT, after it took care of No. 8 New York University in four sets, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21, in the program's second national semifinal since 2019.
The Tigers (30-4) collected the 19th 30-win season in program history, all under the direction of longtime Head Coach Julie Jenkins, by overcoming a first set that went to the Violets (29-7) and with a 16-8 fourth-set deficit. An 11-1 run directly after that tally saw the third-seeded Trinity squad power past second-seed NYU.
Trinity collected 19 kills from the right pin between senior Sarah Williammee's and 11 kills and senior Sara Flynn's eight, on 22 attempts each. Williammee's total came with a .409 hitting clip and five blocks to Flynn's three rejections.
Solid play in the middle returned for the Tigers with 17 kills split near-evenly between senior Emily Ellis and junior Maddie Fate, with nine and eight kills respectively, on a combined .389 hitting mark to go along with nine blocks, six to the junior New York-native.
The Tigers featured the left pin more heavily than usual Thursday night, teeing up junior Mackenzie Logan for a career-high 46 attack attempts, netting 12 kills while forcing the NYU defense to cover from sideline-to-sideline with the potent attack from the opposite pin.
First-years libero Jenna Rodriguez and outside hitter Reagan Whatley continued to impress in the back-row Thursday with 17 and 16 digs, respectively.
No. 6 Trinity Volleyball will battle No. 2 Juniata College (PA) for the 2022 NCAA III Women's Volleyball Championship Saturday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in a rematch of a September 16 matchup played in San Antonio as part of the 2022 Trinity Fall Classic.
The Rundown
The start couldn't have been much worse for Trinity as NYU scored eight of the first nine points to take the early advantage. The Violets were strong on the block in the early part of the first set and were able to build a lead as high as nine points (17-8). The lead was still nine a few points later as NYU was poised to take a lopsided win with a 21-12 lead.
Instead, Trinity came to life on both offense and defense behind Williammee, with Fate and Flynn in support. The Tigers went on an 8-1 run of their own to pull within two at 20-22, but the Violets ultimately held on for the 25-21 win. Williammee finished with five kills and a .500 hitting percentage, then also combined with Fate for three blocks in the set.
The second set was a completely different start as Trinity streaked to the early lead with a 7-0 run that featured three kills for Logan. NYU finally snapped the string of Tiger points with two scores of its own, but the Tigers answered with another short run to take its largest lead in the early going at 13-4. NYU burned its second timeout during the run, but it turned out to be worth it as the Violets came back with their own 4-0 run to prompt a Trinity timeout at 13-8.
The Tigers scored eight of the next 10 points after that break, including back-to-back aces from senior setter Marisa Amarino to make it a 21-10 lead. The Violets could never put a run together until the very end, fighting off four straight set points after the Tigers were up 24-11. After Trinity's final timeout, NYU missed the ensuing serve and the Tigers had tied things up with a 25-15 win. Logan came on strong and drew even with Williammee for the match lead with seven kills each after the second set. Amarino was up to 14 assists, while Whatley and Rodriguez both had 12 digs after the second.
The third set began with both teams playing evenly for the first several points and neither team led by more than two points until Trinity put together a run to take control. The Tigers scored seven straight points to force NYU to use up both of its timeouts, and put Trinity ahead 14-8. Ellis had two kills and a block assist to account for three of the points.
The Violets came out with three straight points of their own to cut the Tiger lead in half, prompting a Trinity timeout. NYU was unfazed by the interruption and the run continued to cut it to a 13-14 deficit. A service error stopped the run and Trinity quickly regained control of the match by winning four of the next five and taking an 18-14 lead. NYU never got closer than two points down the stretch as Trinity held on for a 25-19 win and the 2-1 match lead.
After faltering over the last two sets, NYU was able to swing momentum back in its favor early in the fourth. The Violets led 4-1 early before Trinity pulled ahead briefly with four straight points, then NYU scored eight of the next nine points to take a 12-6 lead, and Trinity used up both of its timeouts during the stretch. NYU continued to hold onto the momentum and built the lead up to 16-8.
The Tigers then made their move with a decisive 11-1 run that began with seven unanswered points and put Trinity in front 19-17. The Violets made a late charge to keep the match going and tied things up 21-21. Logan made sure Trinity never trailed with a powerful kill, sparking Trinity to four straight points to close out the match.
Up Next
No. 6 Trinity Volleyball entered Thursday knowing it would face a team of Eagles in Saturday's NCAA III Women's Volleyball Championship finale, either the No. 2 Juniata Eagles or the No. 4 University of Northwestern (MN) Eagles. Juniata defeated Northwestern-St. Paul in four sets in Thursday's second semifinal.
On the Eagles…
The nation's second-ranked team by the AVCA ahead of the 2022 NCAA III tournament, Juniata enters Saturday's national championship at 33-1 overall, winners of 26 in a row dating back to their four-set loss to Trinity in Calgaard Gym on September 16.
Four Eagles were recognized in this week's AVCA All-America announcement, led by first-teamer and Region 5 Player of the Year Mackenzie Coley, who ranks 12th in NCAA III in hitting percentage this season (.398) as a middle hitter. So far this week against Hope College (MI) in the quarterfinal and Northwestern Thursday night, Coley has played in all eight sets, accounting for 20 kills (.313) and six blocks.
All-America honorable mention Lily Podolan has brought a noticeable chunk of the Eagles' attack this week averaging well-over 3.5 kills per set on a .303 hitting clip from the opposite pin.
The two remaining teams in this year's NCAA III quest for the title are the two geographical outliers in regards to travel to Pittsburgh. Juniata is a mere 124 miles from their campus compared to nearly 1,500 miles for the Tigers.
Despite a 15-5 series record in favor of the Eagles heading into Saturday, Trinity has won the last three meetings with Juniata including the matchup in September this season. Both of the other two also occurred in the same season, the 2019 campaign that saw the Tigers reach the NCAA III semifinal. In 2019, Trinity met Juniata at Washington University's (MO) East-West Classic, a 3-1 victory, then the two programs crossed paths in the NCAA III Newport News Regional semifinal in Virginia.
Trinity marks the second appearance in the NCAA III finale Saturday, the first since 1999. While Juniata was not on the schedule in 1999, the Eagles did play host to Trinity's first national-championship game appearance against Central College (IA).
