PENSACOLA, Fla. – As they played the second half of a back-to-back weekend on the road, the Trevecca Nazarene University volleyball team (15-5, 9-2 GSC) struggled to get going early on Saturday, and they were unable to recover. The Trojans fell in four sets to AVCA No. 16 the University of West Florida (17-3, 10-0 GSC) in four sets to wrap up the first half of Gulf South Conference play. The Trojans dropped the match 25-22, 25-14, 22-25, 25-14 to the Argonauts, but at the halfway mark of the conference slate, the Trojans sit alone in second place in the GSC.
 
SERIES HISTORY 
The Trojans and Argonauts have now met three times, and West Florida maintains their perfect record in the series at 3-0 with the win. 
 
MATCH RECAP
Trevecca got off to a slow start in the first set as West Florida won 10 of the first 14 points to take a comfortable six point lead early. The Trojans scored three straight points that included a kill from Isabella Sherrod to cut the deficit to 11-8, but through the middle stages of the frame, the Trojans were unable to make more ground. With her team trailing 23-16 late in the set, Kayla Bullard pounded three straight kills to claw Trevecca back to within four at 23-19, and moments later, it was Skias Hainline who had a pair of kills to trim the margin to 24-22, but UWF finished things off on the next point, winning the set 25-22.

UWF led early by a single point in the second stanza when the Argonauts went on a 5-1 spurt that helped them open a 9-5 lead. With the score at 11-8 UWF, the Argonauts seized control of the frame with an 8-1 run that pushed their lead to 19-9, and though Trevecca did manage to cut the deficit to 22-14, UWF won the final three points of the set to take the set victory 25-14, and with that they also claimed a 2-0 lead in the match.

Trevecca dug deep in the early parts of set three, as the Trojans built a 5-2 lead early thanks to a 5-0 run that included four kills and a block for the Trojans. Trevecca's lead grew to 9-5 moments later, and the Trojans led for much of the set, but West Florida kept the Trojans within sight. UWF closed the gap to a single point at 15-14, and Trevecca was unable to shake free of the Argonauts' pursuit. UWF eventually tied the score twice, but the Trojans never allowed UWF to gain the lead, and kills from Bullard and Mackenzie Martin helped Trevecca take the third set 25-22 to pull back to within one set at 2-1.

The Trojans' rally in that set, though, was all they were able to muster. UWF opened the final frame with an 8-2 run, and the Argonauts opened their margin to 12-5 before Trevecca scored consecutive points in the set. Trevecca mounted a rally, though, as kills from Bullard, Hainline, and Addison Cunnagin highlighted a 4-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 12-9. That run, though, proved to be the Trojans' last gasp, as Trevecca was unable to score consecutive points again in the frame, and UWF pulled away to the 25-14 set win that closed out the four-set victory.
 
TROJAN HIGHLIGHTS

• Katilyn Grant led the Trojans with 16 kills and four blocks.
• Addison Cunnagin posted another double double, as she recorded 10 kills and 19 digs.
• Skias Hainline dished up 39 assists, though she did see her double-double streak end at three matches. She added five kills, three digs and an ace as well.
• Lily Vanbebber and Kayla Bullard each had a dozen digs, and Isabella Sherrod also reached double figures with 10 digs in the tilt.  
• Trevecca did have the better of the match defensively at the net, where they out-blocked UWF 8-7.

UP NEXT  
Trevecca faces another three match week next week, though this time, two of the three matches will be on their home floor. The Trojans open the second half of the GSC Slate with a trip west to Memphis for a battle with the Christian Brothers University Buccaneers (8-14, 3-8 GSC) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Trojans swept CBU in Nashville on Tuesday of this week, and that leveled the series at five wins apiece in the Trojans' NCAA era. Trevecca has also won four of the last five in the series.

Next weekend, Trevecca returns home to the Trojan Fieldhouse for a tilt with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (15-4, 7-4 GSC) on Friday evening at 6 p.m. The Trojans will then battle the University of Montevallo (9-11, 6-4 GSC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. Trevecca swept the Chargers earlier this season in Huntsville, and they downed the Falcons 3-1 for their third straight win in that series.
 

MORE ABOUT THE TREVECCA TROJANS
Trojan Sideline Store // Watch Trojans Live on Flo College
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Free Newsletter

-- www.tnutrojans.com --
#PurpleReigns #DefendTheHill