Trevecca Volleyball | Trojans Historic Run Ends in Five at Valdosta State

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Missed opportunities were the story of the evening for the Trevecca Nazarene University volleyball team, as the Trojans (15-4, 9-1 GSC) dropped a heart-breaker on the road at Valdosta State University (7-11, 6-4 GSC) in five sets. The Trojans dropped the match 25-23, 14-25, 25-23, 9-25, 15-13 to the Blazers, ending the Trojans' 10-match winning streak in a tie with the 2002 Trojans for the longest winning streak in program history. It is the first loss for the Trojans in more than a month; their last loss was at Harding University on September 19.

SERIES HISTORY
The Trojans and Blazers have now met three times, and the Blazers maintained their perfect record, moving to 3-0 with the win.

MATCH RECAP
Trevecca started quickly in set one, but the Trojans were unable to hold off the home-standing Blazers. The teams split the first 10 points evenly, but a kill by Kayla Bullard and a pair of solo blocks from Skias Hainline and Kaitlyn Grant helped ignite a 7-3 Trojan run that helped TNU take a 12-8 lead. Valdosta State tallied the next three points to get right back into the set, and it remained close the rest of the way, though Trevecca held the lead until late in the set. Trevecca got a pair of Kills from Mackenzie Martin late in the frame to push their lead to three at 20-17, but a 4-0 spurt from VSU helped Valdosta State take the lead at 21-20. The Trojans tied the set at 23, and they appeared to take a lead on a kill off the block, but upon review, the call was overturned and gave VSU a set point chance. The serve from VSU clipped the tape and fell for an ace to give the Blazers the set one win, 25-23.

Trevecca again started strong in set two. The Trojans took the first three points, and a strong service and attack game kept the Blazers out of system early in the stanza. A lobbed shot from Lilly Vanbebber ignited another 4-point run from the Trojans to help stretch their lead to 7-2, and the Trojans kept the pressure on, forcing VSU to use both of their timeouts early in the set. Midway through the frame, Trevecca scored three straight points again to take a 15-7 lead. Another 4-0 Trojan run late in the set helped Trevecca open a 10-point lead at 22-12, and the Trojans won the set 25-14 to square the match at a set apiece.

In the third stanza, it was VSU's turn to start quickly. After Trevecca took the first two points, the Blazers rattled off eight of nine to take an 8-3 lead early in the frame. The Trojans answered with a 9-2 run to take a 12-10 lead, and the Trojans opened a 20-16 lead late in the stanza, but again, the Trojans struggled to close things out. As in set one, Trevecca proved unable to hold the Blazers off, as VSU took nine of the final 12 points to take the set win 25-23, and the match lead 2-1.

The fourth set was dominated by the Trojans. Trevecca eased out to an early 6-4 lead when a pair of kills from Martin helped Trevecca assert control. The Trojans used a 5-0 run to take their lead out to 14-6, and after VSU cut the margin to 15-9, Trevecca finished the set by winning 10 consecutive points that included four kills and three aces as the Trojans won the set 25-9 to even things up again and force a decisive fifth set.

The Blazers took the first two points of the final frame, but after the Trojans got on the board, an ace from Vanbebber tied the set at 2-2. The teams traded points until back-to-back tallies gave the Blazers the 7-5 lead and forced the Trojans into taking a timeout. The Blazers maintained the momentum out of the timeout and won the next point to force the court change with VSU up 8-5. Trevecca battled hard, but the Blazers kept the Trojans from making a dent in the margin, and the Trojans spent their final timeout trailing 11-7. Out of the Trojans' timeout, Addison Cunnagin picked up a kill, and Bullard and Grant combined on a block to trip the deficit to 11-9 and force VSU into calling their first timeout. That call successfully stemmed the Trojans' momentum, and Valdosta State closed out the win on their home court, winning the set 15-13.

TROJAN HIGHLIGHTS

Mackenzie Martin led the Trojans with 15 kills, and she attacked the ball at a .406 clip.
Skias Hainline recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 37 assists and 15 digs. She finished the match just two kills shy of a triple-double, and she eclipsed the 2,000 career assist threshold in the match. She is just the third Trojan to break through the 2,000 assist barrier, and she is now fewer than 300 assists behind Chloee McDaniel for second all-time.
Addison Cunnagin (11) and Kayla Bullard (10) also reached double-figures in kills, and each also recorded a double-double (Cunnagin 14 D, Bullard 10 D).
Lily Vanbebber led Trevecca back row players with 35 digs, and Isabella Sherrod (22) also reached double-digits.
Trevecca matched a season-high with 11 blocks in the match, which marked the fifth time this year the Trojans had at least 10 blocks. The Trojans also recorded a new season-best in digs (108).

UP NEXT
Trevecca must regroup quickly as they turn around and take on preseason favorite and AVCA No. 16 the University of West Florida (16-3, 9-0 GSC) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Argonauts swept the Trojans last year. The 2024 matches are the only two meetings between the schools in volleyball.