(Story courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department)
PITTSBURGH, Pa., -- The sixth-ranked Tiger volleyball team's bid for a national title fell short in Saturday night's 3-0 loss to second-ranked Juniata College in the 2022 NCAA III Championship Match.
Trinity (30-4) made it to the NCAA III Final for just the second time in school history, finishing as the national runner-up for the first time since 1999. The Tigers opened the week with a 3-0 win over Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday in the NCAA III Quarterfinals, then earned a 3-1 win over New York University in Thursday's NCAA III Semifinals. Trinity has made three straight quarterfinals appearances in the last three tournaments, falling in the semifinals in 2019, and falling in the quarterfinals in 2021.
Senior Sara Flynn paced the offense with eight kills, while senior Sarah Williammee and first-year Reagan Whatley had five kills each. Whatley also finished with 11 digs to trail fellow first-year Jenna Rodriguez's 12 digs for the team lead.
Senior Marisa Amarino and sophomore Trinity Herrera finished with 24 combined assists with Amarino holding a slight 13-11 edge individually. Herrera also had nine digs in the match.
Following the match, Amarino and Williammee were both named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team for their performances this week at this week's NCAA III Championships.
Today's match is the end of the 38th season under the direction of Head Coach Julie Jenkins, who has compiled more than 1,000 wins with the Tiger volleyball program. She has led Trinity to 27 NCAA III Playoff appearances that include eight trips to the NCAA III Quarterfinals since 1999's run to the finals.
The Rundown
Juniata was in control of the opening set from the start, jumping out to a 5-1 lead that included three straight points to open the match. After trading scores over the next few serves, the Eagles strung together four straight points that built the lead as high as 10-3.
Trinity finally got going with three straight points to cut into the lead, but Juniata maintained the momentum by scoring six of the next eight points and forcing the Tigers to call their second timeout of the set. The Eagles continued to run away with the first set, scoring six straight overall to take a 10-point advantage (18-8).
Facing the double-digit lead seemed to spark the Tigers down the stretch, as they scored three straight points to start a late-set rally. The lead was still nine points when Trinity rattled off four straight to cut it to a 21-16 game that led to a Juniata timeout. That break proved to be well-timed as the Eagles scored two quick points to break up the streak and then finished off the Tigers with a 25-17 opening-set score.
Trinity opened the second set by scoring two of the first three points, but Juniata answered with four straight to take a 5-2 lead early. The score was just 7-5 in favor of the Eagles as the Tigers fought to stay close, but Juniata mounted a huge 12-1 run to put the game out of reach with a 19-6 lead. The teams played fairly even the rest of the way, but the lead proved to be too much as Juniata took a 2-0 match lead with the 25-11 win.
Looking for a sweep, Juniata came out strong to start the third set, combining a pair of 4-1 runs to take an 8-2 lead. Trinity scored four straight to cut the lead to two points, but Juniata then matched that run to make it 12-6. Another 4-0 Tiger run forced a timeout by the Eagles as the lead was back to just two (10-12) midway through the set.
After trading scores for several points, Juniata began to ease away again by scoring three out of four at one point for a 16-12 lead. The lead was still four points when Trinity scored four of the next five to fight their way back to an 18-17 game. Both teams went back and forth from there down the stretch until Juniata scored three straight to take a 24-20 lead. The Tigers fought off three Championship points with three straight kills by Flynn, but Juniata was able to hold on for the win and the 2022 national title.
