Eight games into their first season of Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play, the Tigers remain undefeated. They are the only team left in the conference to have a perfect record in conference play.
Saturday: Game One
Game one was a rematch against Centre College, after the Tigers beat them earlier this year three sets to zero. Senior Reagan Whatley delivered an early kill, and Centre started off the set with two errors, which gave the Tigers an early lead. Centre came back and took back the lead, which forced Head Coach Julie Jenkins to call a timeout. After the break, the Tigers defensive efforts kept the score close to 19-21. Trinity tied it up at 25, and junior Connelley McWilliams delivered a kill to secure a 27-25 win for Trinity in the first set.
“I definitely wanted to be more of an offensive threat this year. In the past years we’ve had people who were more offensive, so I needed to be the defense,” Whatley said. “I needed to work on passing and stuff keeping everybody in the system so they could be offensive.”
Trinity started off the second set, and Centre was only able to tie the score up briefly at 8-8. The Tigers placed the lead back in their favor, which they held onto to win the second set. The teams traded points in the third set, again tying the score up at 10-10. Sophomore Taylor Starr, senior Marissa Drange and Whatley delivered kills. The Tigers took the third set and swept the match 3-0.
“It really does help when you’re on the court with your best friends. When someone gets a great up, you’re going to do everything to keep that ball up because they just did something great. It just makes it so much more worth it,” Whatley said. “Especially with my group of seniors, Jenna [Rodriguez], Jozie [Dhayer], Marissa [Drange], I love my class so much. Playing for each other in our last season too has been something that’s been pushing all of us.”
Sunday: Game Two
Sunday evening, the Tigers took down Sewanee in four sets. Trinity lost the first set, but came back in the second, keeping the score close and taking the lead after sophomore Annabelle Lanik served for 8 points straight. Trinity’s offense delivered kills to secure a lead, which the Tigers maintained until the end of the game. Some of Trinity’s usual starters were out this weekend due to injury, such as starting senior Jenna Rodriguez, who is a libero which means she is the most important player in serve receive. Assistant Coach Maggi Linker said the team stepped up to fill those gaps.
“It brings a lot of energy to the team when you see different players step into roles and be really successful. Everyone works hard all season long so it’s just a great testament to our depth and you certainly need good depth to continue to be strong throughout the conference,” Linker said. “We believe we have great depth but it’s awesome when you see it in a game”
Trinity’s victory in the third set gave them a 2-1 set lead, needing only one more to secure the victory. Sewanee secured a lead at the beginning of a fourth set, but the Tigers responded by scoring seven points in a row. Sewanee tied the score late into the set, but defensive blocks from junior Lauren McCarthy and sophomore Taylor Starr kept the Tigers alive.
The game extended to extra points where senior Jozie Dhayer and junior Courtney Pope hit back-to-back kills. McCarthy delivered the final service ace to take the set 30-28, winning the match three sets to one.
“With SAA we always have our guard up and are always playing to our full potential and it’s really going to help us in the long run,” senior Jenna Rodriguez said.
Last week, Rodriguez won defensive player of the week, and Drange won offensive player of the week. Rodriguez was not able to play in this weekend’s games due to a head injury, but she was able to watch the team play this weekend from “the Julie suite,” named for Head Coach Julie Jenkins, supporting her team while still following concussion protocol.
“I am extremely proud of all of my teammates, especially my liberos. I have given the utmost support this weekend and the whole season and last season. I see them as my little sisters and mentoring them means the world to me. Seeing them step into that big role and position this weekend was really emotional for me,” Rodriguez said.
The Tigers will go on a road trip to Georgia for their next matchups against Emory University on Oct. 17, Berry University on Oct. 18 and Oglethorpe University on Oct. 19.
*This story has been updated from a previous version with more detailed more coverage.
