Senior libero Meredith Erwin led the Tigers in Sherman this weekend, breaking the Trinity record for career digs with 1,823. The Tigers went 1-2 in SCAC play, losing to Southwestern University and Colorado College but defeating Centenary College.
“We lost to teams that we should have beaten and that we have beaten before,” said sophomore outside hitter Layne Hubbard. “We were lacking in mental toughness and just didn’t get the job done.”
On Saturday, the Tigers beat Centenary 3-0 in their first match. Hubbard recorded 10 kills and 22 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Maggie Emodi had 14 kills and 13 digs and sophomore setter Jenny Epperson had 25 assists and 14 digs.
“I was really pleased with that match,” said head coach Julie Jenkins. “I thought the entire team really came out ready to play at their highest level and made sure that Centenary wasn’t in the position to take a game off of us. They did a good job of coming out and playing to win from the start.”
Junior setter Maryn Swierc had 21 assists and 18 digs and sophomore middle blocker Erin Cusenbary had 17 kills, along with five blocks and a .452 hitting percentage.
The Tigers lost the second game 3-2 to nationally-ranked Southwestern University. Erwin led the Tigers with 34 digs and Swierc contributed with 17 assists and seven digs. First-year middle blocker Allison Martinez had two blocks, seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage and Hubbard recorded eight kills, eight digs and a .316 hitting percentage.
“That was the hardest loss because we really wanted to beat them and after beating Colorado College a couple of weeks ago we felt like we should,” Cusenbary said. “We could have won the game but it was a matter of not being disciplined enough in our individual roles.”
Trinity lost on Sunday to nationally-ranked and defending SCAC champions Colorado College 3-0.
“We were always just mentally tired from the game before and that affected how we played,” Cusenbary said. “Colorado College also came out a lot stronger than they were when we played them initially.”
Erwin recorded 12 digs against Colorado, breaking the record with her final dig. Swierc contributed with 17 assist and 11 digs, while Cusenbary recorded six kills and five blocks. Junior middle blocker Kelsey Daniel had eight kills, six digs and a .353 hitting percentage.
“They took control of the game from the get-go, and we could never really get going,” Hubbard said.
The Tigers return home this weekend to face Our Lady of the Lake and Bethel on Friday and Central College on Saturday.
“I think we’re just not quite there yet mentally, but I think our team is still very capable of getting where we need to be,” Jenkins said. “I think we have a great group of girls. They’ve done a good job of staying together as a team and they’re showing good maturity. We just have to keep working harder than ever and peak at the right time.”
