CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The 11th-ranked Trinity University volleyball team made its 2025 NCAA Playoff debut with a dominating 3-0 sweep over Manhattanville University (NY) on Thursday afternoon at the NCAA Regional Tournament hosted by MIT.
The #2 seed Tigers (23-5) breezed through the opening round matchup against the #7 seed Valiants (20-8) by scores of 25-12, 25-12, and 25-11, which was also the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Trinity's offense was red-hot, committing just five errors in 66 attempts and hitting .485 as a team. The defense was also impressive with 29 digs and seven team blocks, holding Manhattanville to a negative hitting percentage (-.092) for the match. The win also marked another career milestone for Head Coach
Julie Jenkins, who secured her 1,100th career win at Trinity (1,129 overall).
Reagan Whatley (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) just missed a double-double with nine kills and a team-best 10 digs for the Tigers, hitting .375 across three sets.
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) and
Marissa Drange (Boerne, Texas / Champion) finished with seven kills each, with McCarthy hitting .462 and Drange finishing with a .538 hitting percentage.
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) hit .625 with five kills and
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) record three kills on four swings to hit .750. McCarthy also led the team with four blocks, while McWilliams and
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) finished with three blocks each.
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) led Trinity with 14 assists, while
Jozie Dhayer (Houston, Texas / Summer Creek) added 12 or her own to go with four digs.
Brynn Bishop (Indianola, Iowa / Indianola) recorded three service aces and tied McCarthy for the team lead.
The Rundown
Trinity jumped in front early thanks to six consecutive points that included three kills by three different players, a block by McCarthy and Pope, and an ace from Rodriguez that made it a 9-2 advantage early in the first set. After Manhattanville broke up the streak with two straight points, the Tigers plowed ahead by scoring eight of the next 10 points to take an 18-6 lead. Drange put the finishing touches on that run with back-to-back kills. The Valiants brought the lead back to single digits at 19-11, but Trinity scored six of the final seven points to take the early 1-0 lead. This time it was Whatley with consecutive kills to finish off the set.
Whatley started off the second set with another kill, followed by another block from McCarthy and Pope that vaulted Trinity to the early advantage once again. Trinity led 6-2 after two more kills from McCarthy, then strung five straight points together on four hitting errors by Manhattanville – one of which was a block from McWilliams and Starr – and an ace from McCarthy, putting the lead at 11-3. The lead was still eight points when another 5-0 run gave the Tigers a 20-7 margin, highlighted by a kill by Pope and a solo block from McCarthy. After a rare run by the Valiants trimmed the lead to 10, Whatley followed a kill with an ace, which then led to kills from McWilliams and McCarthy to put Trinity at set point. The Tigers once again finished off the set with a 25-12 score and were on the verge of a sweep.
For the first time in the match, Manhattanville was able to hang with Trinity early in the third set and trailed just 11-8; however, the Tigers would not be denied, and a 6-0 run swung the momentum for good. Bishop rattled off three aces in the sequence, with Drange getting a kill and McCarthy adding another solo block. The run continued and Trinity wound up scoring 14 of the final 17 points, finishing off the sweep with a powerful finish to take the 25-11 win.
Up Next
Trinity will take on #17 Salisbury University (MD) in the next match at the NCAA Cambridge, Mass. Regional Tournament, which will be tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. (ET) at MIT.