The women’s volleyball team headed to California this past weekend to participate in the Cal Lu Fornia National Invitational, where they finished 0-4.
“Overall, I think the team made some great strides in our offensive game, but we need to become more consistent in every part of the game,” said senior middle blocker Jana Tucker in an email.
On Friday, Trinity lost their first game 3-1 against Occidental College and their second game 3-0 against Claremont-McKenna College.
“We were really excited for that game because we thought we’d come out and win,” said junior defensive specialist Leslie Green. “We came out so stoked to play and it went to five games, and late in the fifth game, so that was a hard loss. Losing like that is harder than just getting your butts handed to you.”
Sophomore outside hitter Layne Hubbard led the Tigers against Occidental, with a double-double, 17 kills, 23 digs and a team-best .310 hitting percentage. Senior libero Meredith Erwin recorded 21 digs in the first game, while sophomore outside hitter Maggie Emodi recorded 17 kills. Sophomore setter Jenny Epperson had 42 assists and 11 digs, sophomore middle blocker Erin Cusenbary had a match-best seven blocks, and Green had 15 digs.
Against Claremont, Hubbard had another double-double, Erwin recorded 13 digs and Epperson recorded 29 more assists.
“That game just went by in a flash and I don’t think we were as mentally focused as we had been against Occidental,” Green said. “I think we let our feelings roll over and didn’t do a good job of coming off with a clean slate.”
Trinity lost the first game on Saturday 3-2 against LaVerne, despite starting with a 2-1 lead. Emodi hit .269 overall and contributed with 17 digs. Erwin led with 18 digs, while Hubbard recorded another double-double, 15 kills and 15 digs. Epperson recorded 46 assists in the first match and Tucker had a team high 5 blocks.
“We have a very talented team, a very balanced team, a very athletic team and there has not been one match where we haven’t been in it,” said head coach Julie Jenkins. “There’s nobody we’ve played that I felt like we couldn’t have beaten.”
Trinity fell to No. 6 Cal Lutheran 3-0 in the final game. Sophomore right side Bridget Bohman led the team with 12 assists,
six kills, and seven digs, while Emodi recorded 12 kills and six digs.
“That was probably the best team we’ve seen so far,” Green said. “They were really good, but we’re going to get there. This is one of the most talented teams I think I’ve ever played on.”
The Tigers return home this weekend to participate in the Trinity National Invitational, facing No. 1 Christopher Newport University, No. 4 Emory University, University of California-Santa Cruz, and Concordia University.
“This weekend we’ll be playing just as tough of a schedule,” Jenkins said. “But I’m proud of my team, I love my team and we’re trying as hard as we can to turn things around.”
