SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University's 20th-ranked volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 deficit to defeat ninth-ranked Centre College (KY) and secure the 2026 Southern Athletic Association Championship.
The Tigers (23-8) lost 25-23 and 25-21 in the first two sets, then battled back to win 25-18, 25-19, and 15-11 to earn the win and secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. It marks the first time in SAA history that a team has come back to win the conference title with a "reverse sweep." This is also the second time Trinity has rallied from that deficit against Centre, earning a regular season series split with the Colonels.
Trinity had three different players notch double-doubles in the five-set victory, with four different players reaching double figures in kills and five hitting that total in digs.
Lily Long (Glenview, Ill. / New Trier) finished with 21 kills and 12 digs, missing her career-high in kills by just one.
Kendall DeRivel (Westlake Village, Calif. / Viewpoint) finished with 27 assists and 14 digs, while fellow setter
Emma Reeves (Plano, Texas / East) had 18 assists and 10 digs.
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) led the team with 18 digs, while
Brynn Bishop (Indianola, Iowa / Indianola) finished with 13. Trinity finished with 12 team blocks in the match and was led by
Taylor Starr (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) and her seven blocks.
Courtney Pope (New Braunfels, Texas / Canyon) added four, while
Lauren McCarthy (Corrales, N.M. / Horizon) and
Connelley McWilliams (Austin, Texas / St. Michael's) had three blocks each. McCarthy also had 14 kills and hit .417 in the match, with McWilliams and Pope both finishing with 12 kills.
McCarthy, DeRivel, and Long were named to the All-Tournament Team, with Long being named the Tournament MVP.
The Rundown
After each team scored to start the opening set, Trinity scored seven of the next nine to take the early 8-3 lead. Pope had two blocks and two kills during the first eight points, while McCarthy had a block and a kill, and Long had a kill and an ace. Centre battled back within two, and the lead stayed close for several more points. The Tigers made another push with four straight points to take a 16-10 lead midway through the set, thanks to three consecutive kills from Pope. The Colonels came right back again with five unanswered points of their own, and the lead was down to one. Trinity remained in front for the time being, and the teams once again traded points down the stretch. The Tigers led 23-21 and seemed to be on the verge of taking the first set, but Centre had other plans, rattling off four straight to steal the game and take the 1-0 lead.
The second set started like the first as Trinity scored seven of the first nine to take the early advantage, thanks to three kills from McWilliams. The lead was 9-3 when Centre matched Trinity's early 7-2 run to cut it to an 11-10 lead for the Tigers. The Colonels then tied the game at 14-14 before Trinity eased in front 16-15. Centre then scored seven of the next eight and took full command of the game at 22-17. Trinity rallied to within two at 23-21, but Centre scored the final two points to take the 2-0 lead.
On the verge of being swept, Trinity turned up the intensity once again by taking an early 7-3 lead to start the third set. McWilliams started with a pair of kills, with McCarthy, Pope, and Long all joining in with kills as well. Centre shook off the slow start and pulled back within one, but Trinity scored five straight to push the lead back to 14-8. Three Colonels errors accounted for most of the scoring, with Long and McWilliams also adding kills. Trinity's lead was no less than three the rest of the way and a late 5-0 run put the Tigers on the verge of extending the match. Just like the last run, Centre had three errors to go with kills from Long and McWilliams for a 24-16 lead. The Colonels scored two more before Trinity could officially clinch with another McWilliams kill.
With the sweep off the table and the match moving into the fourth set, Centre came out determined to avoid what would be its eventual fate. The Colonels pushed the early lead out to 9-5 before the Tigers scored six times in a row to pull in front 11-9. Long had a pair of kills and McWilliams joined in with a kill and a block. Centre rallied again several points later, reclaiming the lead at 17-15 by scoring five straight points of its own; however, the Tigers had an immediate answer to swing momentum back to its side of the net. McCarthy and Pope had two kills each and Pope combined on a block with Starr to fuel seven unanswered points from Trinity, which put them ahead 23-17. Centre scored back-to-back kills to break up the run, but the Tigers scored the final two – the last on another kill from Long – and sent the match to a fifth set.
Centre started off with a 3-2 lead in the fifth, but Trinity turned the tides for good by scoring seven straight after that. Long had four kills and a block during the run, with Starr recording two blocks herself. After the teams traded points again, Centre scored four of five at one point to pull the deficit to 11-8. McCarthy put down a kill to break that up and Trinity scored again to take the lead back to four at 13-8. McCarthy answered consecutive scores from Centre with another kill to get within a point of the win at 14-10. After Centre scored again, Long put the finishing touches on Trinity's comeback with one final title-clinching kill.
Up Next
Trinity has earned automatic qualification into the NCAA Playoffs and will await matchups and locations that will be revealed during the NCAA Selection Show on ncaa.com.
All-Tournament Team:
Lily Long, Trinity (MVP)
Kendall DeRivel, Trinity
Lauren McCarthy, Trinity
Campbell Miles, Centre
Syd Bietz, Centre
Cali Armstead, Berry
Lucy Riggar, Southwestern