(Portions taken from Trinity's website)
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's three NCAA Volleyball Championship participants each advanced to the NCAA South Region semifinals with first round victories Thursday night at Trinity University.
Colorado College set the tone in an SCAC sweep with a thrilling come-from-behind five set win over 21st ranked Christopher Newport. The Tigers (27-11) lost the opening set 23-25, but came back with a 25-18 victory in the second. After Christopher Newport (33-7) took a 2-1 lead with a 25-17 win in the third set, Colorado College finished off the comeback win by winning 25-15 and 15-12 in the final two sets. Box Score
Emily Perkins led the way for Colorado College, hammering out 22 kills to go with 26 digs - leading the team in both categories. Anna Clithero also had a solid outing for the Tigers, collecting 16 kills and 14 digs in the five sets, and also leading the team with four blocks. Annie Bernacchi led Colorado College with 25 assists, also recording 11 digs and three kills.
For Christopher Newport, Allison Wolfe turned in a double-double with a team-high 15 kills and 14 digs. Mary Horner led the Captains with 21 digs, while Jessie Heavenrich finished with 11 digs and a team-best 26 assists. Ryann Lowery also had 21 assists for CNU, while Caitlyn Jansen tallied 12 kills.
Thirteenth ranked Southwestern earned a spot in the semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of the University of Texas-Dallas in the second of three opening round games. Box Score
Christina Nicholls led the Pirates with a double-double, recording 32 assists and 11 digs. Samantha Lingamfelter finished with a team-high 12 digs, while Audra Gentry added 10 digs and nine kills in the match. Lauren Brown hit a blistering .526 in the three sets, tallying 11 total kills in 19 attempts (one error). Lindsay Thomson led all players with five blocks.
Patricia Allen and Jessica Nassau finished with 10 kills each to lead the Comets. Niki Calverley had 32 assists and 10 digs to record the only double-double of the match for UT-Dallas, also leading the team with five blocks. Krissy Seaman and Amber Wetz recorded 14 digs each to lead the Comets.
In the night cap, the host Tigers of Trinity advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 win over the Webster (Mo.) Gorloks. With the win, Trinity (31-9) will make its 15th consecutive appearance in the regional semifinals. It is the first time the Tigers had to win a first round match to advance to the regional semifinals since the 2005 season. Box Score
Trinity (31-9) won 25-15, 25-12, and 25-18 to complete the matchups for the second day of action - the regional semifinal matches. The Tigers hit .444 as a team, thanks to a pair of solid efforts from the two setters. Caroline Keener, senior team captain, and Caiti Troyer combined for 32 assists and 14 digs in the match. Keener led the way with 19 assists and both players had seven digs.
Aly Hazelwood scored eight kills and seven blocks to lead Trinity in both categories, while Ginger Haley and Alexis Edwards tallied seven kills each. Megan Guest and Amt Mittelstaedt both lead the team with 10 digs and two aces each.
Notes: Colorado College will play second-ranked and regional top seed Emory Nov. 14 in the first semifinal match at 4:30 p.m. Southwestern will play Trinity Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. The SCAC is assured of at least one team in the regional final for the third straight year.
Colorado College and Emory will meet for the first time this season while Trinity defeated Southwestern in their only meeting in 2008, 3-0 back on Sept. 20.
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